Beet Marinara Pasta Sauce with Mozzarella

March has definitely been beet season in my house. I made salads, beet risotto, drinks, and more recently, beet pasta sauce. Beets have a gorgeous, rich color; I experimented more by mixing marinara sauce with beets for a simple pasta dish. The acidity from the tomato sauce cuts the sweetness of the beets.

Tomatoes are not in season, so I cheated and used a store-bought jar of tomato sauce. I finished the dish with pieces of mozzarella for extra creaminess.

Linguine Pasta in Beet Sauce

Beet sauce isn't your average pasta sauce. Instead of using the usual boring tomato sauce, I created a sauce made of colorful beets. First, they were boiled, then blended into a smooth purée with caramelized fennel, fromage blanc, crumbled goat cheese and rosemary. I used the vibrant sauce as a a great way to mask the fact that I was serving whole wheat pasta. Our family prefers regular pasta, but I used wheat pasta for its good nutritional value. I find that the types of wheat pasta with the most pleasant texture are linguine and spaghetti; other shapes tend to get gummy when cooked.

I came up with this dish shortly after my friend Olivier shared his genius idea of using puréed beets as a dressing for a simple salad. The beet vinaigrette was so original that it inspired me to find ways to incorporate the sauce in other dishes. Pasta made a lot of sense to me since it requires a sauce. It turned out to be quite a hit at my house; the mouth-watering sauce balances beautifully with the texture of the pasta. Merci Olivier!

Bow Tie Pasta in Asparagus Sauce

Our whole family,  especially the little ones, loves bow tie pasta. The cute shape isn't the best way to hold on to sauce, but it’s a welcome change ffrom macaroni or penne. This time, I sautéed the pasta with caramelized onions and spinach and added a few other ingredients. I used grilled Portobello mushrooms for a meaty texture, diced red bell peppers for color and fresh mozzarella for extra creaminess.

The asparagus sauce is an improvisation using leftover asparagus stalks (I used the tips for making risotto). I blended them into a thick sauce and separately cooked onions with diced tomatoes, a few spices and yogurt. The sauce is quite healthy but so flavorful. If you're minding calories, you could omit the mozzarella garnish or use a low-calorie cheese such as feta cheese.

Lentil Pasta Soup Recipe

My father-in-law, like my husband Lulu, is a vegetarian. One of his favorite meals is kali dal. Because of this, we often have leftover cooked black lentils. As usual, we still had some left last night, so I decided that this time it would not go to waste.

Lentils are packed with protein, so today I created a complete meal by adding pastina pasta and a few vegetables. For more contrast in color, you could add some greens such as spinach. I stuck to carrots, celery and leeks. The result is a delicious, spicy lentil pasta soup.

Spaghetti in Spicy Tomato Sauce

I'm not a professional cook and I always appreciate learning something new. Recently, I posted a recipe for cacio e pepe, and one of the readers, Julio, told me I wasn't making it the right way. I decided to follow Julio's instructions on how to cook the spaghetti. The preparation was very simple: the pasta was cooked al dente and grated cheese and pasta water were added. I sprinkled a little freshly cracked pepper. To add a little twist, this time I topped the pasta with a spicy tomato and eggplant sauce.

The results were spectacular. Thank you so much, Julio for your much needed piece of advice! The sauce is optional but I think it makes a complete meal, and adds a little heat that lingers plus a kick just at the end. Perfecto!