This pasta recipe will convince anyone that beetroot is incredible

This sauce will transform anything from salads to pizza to pasta, says Max La Manna

The beetroot turns the pasta a majestic ruby red (Ebury Press)

Be amazed at how the beetroot turns the pasta a majestic ruby red in this creamy, vibrant dish.

It’s enough to convince anyone that beetroot is incredible.

Add the sauce to anything from salads to pizza to pasta.

This is one of my favourite dishes in this book!

Beetroot bucatini

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 25-35 mins

Store in fridge: 1-2 days

Store in freezer: Up to 1 month

Ingredients:

380g bucatini, spaghetti or linguine

40g feta, crumbled, to serve

Beetroot sauce

1 large beetroot, including the stems and leaves

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed

1 tbsp chopped parsley stems

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil stems, plus basil leaves to garnish

4 tbsp nutritional yeast

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

70ml oat milk

For the crispy garlic breadcrumbs:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, grated or thinly sliced

50g breadcrumbs (home-made from a stale loaf, or shop-bought)

Method:

1. To make the beetroot sauce: bring a pan of water to the boil, add the whole beetroot and cook for 10–15 minutes or until tender. Drain the beetroot and set aside to cool for a few minutes, then cut into quarters.

2. Meanwhile, in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and cook the onion, garlic, parsley and basil stems for 3–5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Remove from the heat; do not wash the pan.

3. Put the beetroot into a food processor or blender, add the onion mixture, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pulse for 1 minute, then, with the motor running, stream in the milk. Blend on high speed until very smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to loosen.

4. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the bucatini and cook for 9 minutes or until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 4–5 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water.

5. Meanwhile, prepare the crispy garlic breadcrumbs. In a separate frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat, add the garlic and fry for 1 minute until lightly browned. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until the breadcrumbs are lightly charred and fragrant, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

6. In the same frying pan used for the onion and garlic, add the cooked pasta and beetroot sauce and stir well over low–medium heat for 2 minutes. If too thick, stir in some of the reserved pasta water.

7. Serve the pasta in bowls or on plates, garnished with roughly torn basil leaves, crumbled feta cheese and crispy garlic breadcrumbs.

Tips: Use gluten-free pasta and breadcrumbs if you prefer. Store any leftover pasta and garlic breadcrumbs separately.

Recipe from ‘You Can Cook This’ by Max La Manna (Ebury Press, £22).