It’s a Tuscan technique to cook pasta in wine. I first prepared this for Jacques in honor of his 80th birthday on our show. I was shocked when he said he had not seen the technique before! I showed Jacques a new (not mine or new) trick in the kitchen? Quoi? Ha! It’s fun and delicious and to serve as a main dish, sometimes we add roasted or pan cooked sweet sausage with fennel.

Drunken Tuscan Spaghetti with Roasted Beets

Category

Category name

Serves

4

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch beets with leafy tops, 4-5 medium or 3 large (If the tops are not attached or in poor condition, supplement or use as an alternative 1 small bunch of red chard)
  • ¼ cup EVOO
  • 3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped or grated
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 bottle of Italian red wine such as Rosso di Montalcino
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • A little freshly grated nutmeg, about ⅛ teaspoon
  • 1 cup Ricotta salata or pecorino, grated or crumbled, plus more to pass
  • Finely chopped mint and parsley

Method

  1. Roast beets in foil pouch on a baking sheet on middle rack in a 425°F oven for 60-90 minutes until tender, depending on their size. Cool to handle, rub off skins, and grate or shred on the large side of a box grater.
  2. Heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta.
  3. Stem beet greens or red chard; finely chop the veins and coarsely shred the leaves.
  4. Heat a deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat with EVOO, 4 turns of the pan. Add shallots and sauté 2 minutes, then stir in garlic and sauté 1 minute, then and beets and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Salt boiling water and add pasta, cook 5 minutes and drain. Set aside.
  6. Add wine to beets and turn up to high, boil 3 minutes.
  7. Add the pasta to the wine and reduce heat to low, cover, cook pasta 3 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Uncover, wilt in greens, and add a little fresh nutmeg. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Top pasta with cheese, mint, and parsley.