Recipe

Red Beet Fusilli with Balsamic, Poppy Seeds and Mint

Wildcard Contest Runner-up!

Red Beet Fusilli with Balsamic, Poppy Seeds and Mint

Photo 1 of 2
by Sarah Shatz

Red Beet Fusilli with Balsamic, Poppy Seeds and Mint

Photo 2 of 2
by SippitySup

  • A&M's Testing Notes: This recipe, created by Melissa Clark, originally appeared in Food & Wine almost ten years ago (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fettuccine-with-grated-beets-and-cheese). It's one of the...

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  • Chef

    SippitySup's Notes: The amazing thing about this recipe (besides its sweet earthy flavor) is the bright intense color of red. Because the pasta starts out as a golden-hued dried durum wheat pasta, the sauce makes...

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Serves 4

  1. In a large heavy saucepan toast the poppy seeds over high heat, stirring, until they are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Add 5 tablespoons butter to the same saucepan and cook over medium heat until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beets and season with salt and pepper, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Turn the heat off, cover and let sit at least 10 minutes.

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  2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted water, boil the pasta until just al dente. Drain and transfer the pasta to the pan with the beets, reserving some of the pasta water. Add in a ladle of the hot pasta water and toss the pasta with the remaining 1 tbsp butter and the grated cheese; season the pasta with salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir together with the poppy seeds and remaining balsamic vinegar. Garnish with mint, add more salt and pepper as necessary. Serve with a little more cheese passed at the table.

    Ask the hotline about this step!
Newliztoqueicon-2 Reply

holy cow - late to the party...Thumbs up. best, Liz

Reply

Delicious, beautiful and amazing quick! Thanks for sharing.

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It's delicious! But I'm wondering whether the poppy seeds are supposed to be squished before or not...

Dsc07136 Reply

Made this a couple nights ago. Loved the color, but didn't like that the beets were raw, since they stayed slightly crunchy. I expected them to soften and pickle a little as they sat in the balsamic vinegar and butter, but they didn't. Might try this again with roasted beets.

Picture_11 Reply

This looks incredible. I'm going to sacrifice my poppy seeds reserved for hamantaschen and try this.

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I just made this for my family. It was wonderful... the mint was even better than I expected. However, I was not brave enough to pour all 4 TBSP of poppy seeds in. I was afraid it would overpower the dish. I probably put in 1.5 to 2 TBSP. Does anyone here put it all in?

Monkeys Reply

In college, one of my favorite meals was a similar beet pasta dish with chicken, garlic, and lots of parmesan cheese. My husband hates beets, so I haven't made it in a long time. I'm now looking forward to a night when we works late and I can indulge in my beet cravings with the addition of poppy seeds and the balsamic.

N760970460_4333897_8013 Reply

My favorite colors in a delicious recipe. Thanks!

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This pasta looks lovely! Melissa Clark has a very similar recipe on the Food and Wine website. Was it the inspiration for this recipe?

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I hate red beet. But my dad grows it in his garden. So I practically can’t avoid it. I have tried al kinds of recipes to make it interesting and tasty. For me, this is one to try out. Thanks!!

100_0968 Reply

This sounds interesting, I love beets and I love pasta. What a great idea, can't wait to try it.

Profilepic Reply

It's so...RED! Really beautiful. Congrats on the win!

Lnd_jen Reply

This is GORGEOUS. Congrats on your wildcard win!

036 Reply

I would not have thought to combine these either but now I WILL - such a beautiful dish, too ...

Steve_dunn02 Reply

HA....I told you that this was a sure fire "wildcard" winner, congratulations, Greg!

186003_1004761561_1198459_n Reply

Beets and pasta...two of my favorite foods. I would never in a million years have thought of the combination,
but it sounds really good! I am on my way to get the ingredients to try tonight. CONGRATULATIONS!

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

This looks fabulous! The combination of mint and balsamic vinegar with the beets is making my mouth water. I can't wait to try this one.

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