This is a vibrant and easy seasonal dish for beets - the color may divide opinion but the taste won't.
Peel and grate the beetroot – using a food processor if you have one will make this much easier.
2. Dry fry the pumpkin seeds in a frying pan for 2-3 mins until golden or toasted on a medium heat.
3. Meanwhile, boil a kettle and find a pan ready to cook your pasta.
4. Set aside the seeds but use the pan to the fry off the raw grated beetroot and capers (if you don’t like capers, you can leave them out). Fry for about 7 minutes or until no liquid present in the pan. Take off the heat.
5. Meanwhile cook your pasta, following pasta instructions but drain 3 minutes earlier than suggested (reserving 150ml / half a cup of pasta water). It will finish cooking in the sauce.
6. Add the pasta water to the beetroot and then put back on a medium heat. Add the pasta in the sauce and finish cooking for 2-3 mins.
7. Add some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and the pumpkin seeds. Serve with some salad leaves.
Based on a recipe from Anna Jones – A modern cook’s year which has lots of seasonal vegetable recipes on.
You could also use a jar of cooked beets – if using cooked beetroot, drain, stick it in a blender instead of grating, then heat through and boil off the liquid and you will need far less pasta water toward the end.