PINK PASTA WITH BEETS AND RICOTTA  

 with Suzanne Dunaway

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Serves 2

This is a pasta I serve at lunch often on my wedding anniversary, which is on Valentine’s Day (never forgotten). Being a hopeless romantic, I wanted to cook an all-red-ish menu for my honey! Our wonderful supermarkets here in the Pyrenées-Orientale have delicious ricotta, but I have found that fromage blanc makes a very tasty substitute if ricotta is not available. Any short pasta works in this recipe.

During the winter I have been steaming those lovely Chioggia beets, which have a pink and white striped interior, and also the lovely red organic beets sold in our open market in Collioure, but the plain packaged cooked red beets will do as well and are all ready for the sauce.

For dessert, I made my 2-minute ice cream with frozen strawberries to keep the theme! I made up this ice cream recipe when I needed a dessert quickly and knew that frozen fruits blended with cream and a little sugar made a lovely smooth ice cream. You may use this same technique in the summer with peaches, mangoes, nectarines and berries. Freeze fresh fruits in small dice with a spoon of sugar for each cup of fruit and a squeeze of lemon. Some may want more sugar, but I like to keep this light and intense with fruit.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil and make the sauce as it heats.
A little over half of a package of macaroni, shells, butterflies or any short pasta will be enough for two, about 150g each.

The pasta sauce:

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 package-of-four cooked red beets, or 4 fresh beets, steamed in salted water until tender, and reserve the juice for future pink dishes or homemade pasta
• 2 cups ricotta or fromage blanc
• 3 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• ½ cup chicken or vegetable broth
• Juice of a small lemon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• A handful of fresh sage leaves, toasted in olive oil until crisp

Wash the beets (if using fresh, cut each in four pieces and steam them covered with salted water until tender, about 30 minutes or until a fork pierces the beets easily. Drain well (reserving the beet water for making your own pasta one day).
In the bowl of a food processor pulse the beets, ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper just until ingredients are blended. Add the chicken broth and pulse quickly. Add the lemon juice, drain the pasta, and put the pasta and sauce back into the heated pot.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the sage leaves, and sauté just until the leaves are toasted. Serve the pasta in warmed bowls with the sage crumbled over the top.

Two-minute Strawberry (or raspberry) ice cream:

• 1 250g package of frozen strawberries or raspberries
• ½ cup sugar or to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 20cl carton of chilled crème entiére Normandie
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

In the bowl of a food processor, just before serving dessert, place the frozen fruit, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Pulse until a slush is ready for the cream. Add the cream and pulse until thick. Serve immediately in sorbet dishes.