We are coming to the end of last year’s stored beetroot and can look forward to some fresh summer beetroot soon. I haven’t planted beetroot this year as I decided I would grow peas, beans, more beans, tomatoes and courgettes only. Not to worry though as last year’s beetroot are still popping up in my vegetable box and down at the local market. I’ve called this a ‘salad’ because it sort of falls in the salad category with the beetroot, walnuts and dressing but at the same time it is a pasta dish; a very luminously coloured pasta dish at that.
If you have been reading over the last few months you might have noticed I went through a rainbow of beetroot in various different dishes; golden beetroot soup, candy beetroot tart and purple beetroot risotto. I was yet to try beetroot with pasta but Thursday night dinner loomed and with a drawer full of beetroot and not a lot else there was only one thing for it.
Put the pasta into a pan of salted boiling water. Cook according to packet instructions (around 8 minutes). While the pasta cooks make the dressing by whisking the walnut oil and red wine vinegar together until lightly emulsified. Mix in a little salt, plenty of pepper and some of the chopped dill. Depending on how salty the goat’s cheese is you may need to add a little more salt to the dressing.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and stir through the dressing to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Heat up a pan and add the chopped walnuts, keep moving them around until lightly toasted. Be careful not to let them catch. While the walnuts are toasting grate the beetroot and the goat’s cheese separately. Mix the grated beetroot and the pasta together and serve in bowls. Top with the toasted walnuts, lots of goat’s cheese and a little extra dill. Perfect on its own but also brilliant if you add some crispy fried bacon.
The beetroot was soft and sweet and turned the pasta a brilliant fuchsia. The walnuts added crunch and depth of flavour and the cheese gave the dish a slightly sharp and creamy touch. The dill dressing brought it all together with very faint aniseed and freshness. Surprisingly filling but also quite light this was a fantastic dinner.
What an interesting combo – must be nice to have that sweet/salty flavor.
I have never made orzo myself. Love the combination.
i LOVE all your recipes and pictures. thank you!!! becca
Orzo is new to me but your gorgeous recipes are obviously not 😀
Love it!
Cheers
CCU
Looks great, I have never tried Orzo but will do now!
We always harvest more beetroots that we can consume (my kids are not very keen on beetroots), thank you for your rainbow of beetroot interesting recipes. I am looking forward to try this one because I love goat’s cheese. ps in Italy we love orzo pasta, small rice-shaped pasta, and it should be used more in salads (sadly we use it mainly in soups).
Sounds delicious, not to mention looks amazing. Good for a meat free dinner where no one will actually miss the meat. Monday night, here we come!
Beets are my fav too but wonder if I can leave out the pasta, have it as a salad.
I would probably skip that orzo.. I love beetroot alone 😀
Mmmmm….this combination of ingredients sounds wonderful! I love this salad~
this looks interesting!! thanks for sharing 🙂
well i don’t usually grow beetroot as we don’t really eat it a great deal at home,
however i must say that this sounds tempting,
thank you for an interesting idea 🙂
looks lovely and delicious…mouthwatering!
Yummy. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great combination! We made some beet tomato sauce on Saturday. If you have the time, check it out on our blog. It would go great with pasta!
that sounds like a great combination of flavors! i am bookmarking this!
Nice textures, colours and flavours, I really like it, especially the nuts.
I love goats cheese and beetroot together but have never tried them with pasta before. Great recommendation of topping with bacon to intensify the saltiness!
Hi, I’m your latest follower. Love this recipe and really enjoying your blog. Received a friend request from you on Food Buzz and promptly deleted it! Don’t know what I’m doing on there! Looking forward to more recipes – and beautiful images!
This looks gorgeous!!I love beetroots and can imagine the delicious flavors in your orzo!A must try this summer 🙂
I love orzo, with the beetroot this is a new adding for me to try. Sounds wonderful yummy!
A well-balanced and delectable salad.
Very delicious salad, I love beets. Perfect for summer 🙂
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Now this is one unusual but lovely salad! I bet everyone just says…wow!
Oh, I love orzo. And beets are just so beautifully colored–what a gorgeous salad.
so this is the salad that you did for the demo. Delicious! I’m sure you have converted some beetroot haters to lovers, great combination!!
This looks delicious!
Lovely salad. It would be great if you linked it in to today’s Food on Friday which is collecting salad recipes.
You are a star for linking up. Isn’t there now a great collection of salad ideas. And more are still coming in. Cheers