BEET, LEMON & RICOTTA PASTA

I spent my whole childhood loathing beetroot with a passion! Weirdly enough, I now love them & eat them in one form or another most days. I came up with this one day when I had a lemon and some dill to use up & it really worked. So simple, but so delicious.
I use buckwheat pasta, but you can use whatever pasta you like.

INGREDIENTS

serves 2

4 medium sized raw beetroots
150g buckwheat pasta
handful fresh dill
zest of one lemon
75 g ricotta cheese or vegan alternative (I love Nush cream cheese from Ocado & other independent stores.)
handful of toasted pine nuts
Olive oil
preheat the oven to 180c.

1 Take your beetroots & place them in an oven proof dish. Poke them with a sharp knife a few times. Pop into the oven for about 90 mins. (Cooking time varies depending on the size & variety of the beetroots- this is a rough guide. You'll know they're done when the skin is starting to crinkle and when you poke a knife in they feel soft & cooked.) Leave to cool.

2  Cook your pasta as per instructions on the packet. (These will vary a little depending on what type of pasta you're using.) Top tip:  add a dessert spoon of light olive oil or rapeseed oil to the saucepan to stop the pasta sticking -I saw this on TV once & have done it ever since!

3  Toast your pine nuts if you're DIYing. You can also buy ready toasted pine nuts but if you want to toast them yourself, simply place into a dry, non stick frying pan, over a medium heat for a few mins until they start to brown. Keep an eye on them as "golden brown" can turn to " burnt" quite quickly!  Set to one side.

4  When the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander, then rinse under some cold water to remove any excess starch. Place it in a serving dish. Mix in a little olive oil to stop the pasta sticking together - You want it so that the pasta is evenly, lightly coated - not swimming in oil. Season to taste.

5  Peel the cooled beetroots. Then chop them up & add to the pasta. Add the pine nuts, some chopped fresh dill & dots of the ricotta cheese.
Last but not least finish by finely grating the zest of an organic, unwaxed lemon & sprinkling over the top. Job done!