Albeit nothing can be crowned ‘authentic’ in this beetroot pasta, I REALLY like its lovely purple colour, and, of course, it’s tasty. Let me show you how to make it.
Recently, I bought a pack of mascarpone cheese to make cheesecake (something like this) and had some leftover. I didn’t want to make another dessert, so I used it in pasta sauce. It works!
Use Mascarpone like Heavy Cream
Can you imagine using mascarpone in pasta sauce? No! You can’t! Because mascarpone is heavily related to tiramisu or other cheesecake. But actually, you can!
Mascarpone is made from cow’s milk and curdled with acid such as citrus acid. It has a full fat content which contributes to richness and creamy texture. You can see mascarpone is also thicker than normal heavy cream with its texture similar to crème fraîche.
In addition to tiramisu or other dessert, it’s perfectly fine to use mascarpone in savoury dishes too! Just use it like a heavy cream. Here are more ideas of how to use mascarpone.
No Mascarpone? No Problem!
We don’t always have mascarpone at home, but this gorgeous purple beetroot pasta sauce can still be made easily. With what? Yogurt!
Here is a beetroot sauce using 2 cooked beets blended with 2 tbsp of plain full-fat yogurt, 1 tbsp of mayonnaise, and ¼ tsp of salt. Very delicious. Spread it on bread, stuff in wrap or use as a dipping sauce.
You can just toss the beetroot sauce with cooked pasta or warm them together in a pan.
A Pure Beetroot Sauce Without Dairy
In case you don’t have any mascarpone or yogurt on hand, the most basic beetroot sauce is still wonderful.
Like this one, a meat-free and sugar-free beetroot sauce pasta, solely relies on the beetroot natural sweetness to bring out the lovely flavour.
I used 180 g cooked beets to blitz with 1 clove garlic, ¼ onion, 1 tbsp of cashew butter, 1 tbsp of olive oil and ¼ tsp of salt. At a glance, it does look like meat sauce pasta, isn’t it?
Creamy Beetroot Pasta with Mascarpone Recipe
A pack of cooked beetroot offers not only natural sweetness, but also great convenience for a speedy and healthy meal. Try it with mascarpone cheese, it’s surprisingly delicious!
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 160 g tortiglioni (or pasta of choice)
- a small handful of parsley, chopped
- Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)
For the Beetroot Sauce
- 2 medium precooked beetroot (300 g)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 tbsp mascarpone cheese
- salt and pepper
How to Make
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta as per packet’s instructions.
- Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat, cook the onions until softened and slightly coloured, around 10 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
- Meanwhile, cut the beetroots into chunks and whiz in a blender until paste-like.
- Pour the beetroot paste into the pan to heat through, add mascarpone cheese and stir well. Have a taste test, then season with salt and pepper.
- Return the pasta to the beetroot sauce and toss well. Freshly grate some Parmigiano Reggiano on top, and garnish with parsley before serving.
