SERVES 4, WITH PESTO LEFT OVER V
HANDS-ON TIME 25 MINS
TOTAL TIME 35 MINS
One to make when you have guests coming over (particularly if you grow your own beets), this vibrant dish doesn’t require a lot of advanced prep. You’ll make more pesto than you need here (see ‘To store’ tip below) – try it spooned over griddled veg, tossed through boiled potatoes or with veggie burgers.
• 100g walnuts
• 6 tbsp coldpressed rapeseed oil (or use half rapeseed, half olive oil), plus extra to drizzle
• 1 bunch raw beetroot (about 500g trimmed weight), scrubbed, peeled and grated
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• 300g linguine
• 60g rocket
• 2 x 30g packs basil, larger stalks removed
• juice of 1 lemon
• 125g vegetarian soft goat’s cheese, crumbled
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Spread the walnuts out on a baking tray and roast for 8-10 minutes, until deep golden.
2 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying or sauté pan over a high heat. Tip in the beetroot, season well with salt and cook, stirring often, for 5-6 minutes, until the beetroot is slightly translucent and hot, but still crunchy when tasted.
3 Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic then set aside. Boil the pasta according to pack instructions.
4 Blit
