Spring is a time when things get a little clogged up but this beet and spinach spaghetti with goat cheese and spicy balsamic reduction. Although this is a pasta recipe, the heat created from the chili flakes and tarragon is the perfect balance to the sweet of the pasta and the sour of the vinegar. Sure to tantalize your taste buds, it is also beautiful to take in with the deep red/purple color from the beets.
Beet and Spinach Spaghetti with Goat Cheese and Spicy Balsamic Reduction
This spring pasta dish is a delicious way to get all your veggies in while enjoying your pasta. The goat cheese and balsamic vinegar and a little tang while the chili flakes give the dish a real kick to heat things up and clear congestion.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Sauce Pan
- Pasta Pot
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- Peeler
Ingredients
- 4-6 Medium Beets peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces
- 1 Shallot minced
- 6 oz Baby Spinach
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 6 leaves Basil roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Tarragon chopped (2 tsp dried)
- 1 Tbsp Chili Flakes
- ½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 lb Spaghetti or other long noodle
- 8 oz Goat Cheese crumbled
- Black Pepper to taste
- ⅛ tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
- Wash and peel beets. Remove greens and stem and cut into ¼" pieces. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place beets in a pile. Add salt and tarragon to beets with 1 Tbsp olive oil and stir to coat beets while spreading into one layer on baking sheet. Roast in pre-heated oven for 30-45 minutes or until beets can be easily pierced with a fork.
- While the beets cook, fill a pasta pot with enough water to submerge spaghetti. Place pot on high heat until water boils. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Reserve one cup pasta water when you drain. Leave pasta in pot, covered, if other ingredients still need time.
- In the meantime, mince the shallot and peeled garlic. Add remaining oil to sauce pan with heat on medium. Stir in shallot, garlic, and black pepper and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside in a small bowl.
- In the same pot, pour vinegar and chili flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until vinegar reduces by ⅓ to ½ depending on desired thickness, about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Once vinegar is ready, stir in spinach and basil and cook with continuous stirring until wilted, about 2 minutes.
- When spinach is wilted, bring heat to medium low and stir in spaghetti, garlic and shallot mixture, and beets. Stir thoroughly to coat the spaghetti, mix ingredients fully, and to warm, about 5 minutes. Add any additional pasta water to get desired texture and discard the rest, this really depends on how much you reduce the vinegar. Remove from heat.
- Serve warm with crumbled goat cheese and garnish with fresh basil and/or tarragon.
Notes
If your beets still have the greens, you can use the beet greens in lieu of the spinach.
I put the garlic and shallot mixture on the dish I plan to serve my meal on to reduce dishes.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
