After trying this dish for the first time, my two-and-a-half-year-old now requests “pink pasta” on repeat, and she especially loves the theatre of her own mini bowl of pangrattato to scatter over the top (which makes a change from her preferred diet of fish fingers and sliced apple). The linguine is just as nice for adults, and a low-effort yet flavour-packed way to get another brightly coloured vegetable into your week.
Pink linguine with pine nut pangrattato and goat’s cheese
If I’m making this for my daughter, I leave out the chopped pine nuts, in case they’re a choking hazard.
Prep 15 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 2
180-200g linguine, depending on how hungry you are/how many scavenging toddlers you have to feed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
40g panko or white breadcrumbs
50g pine nuts, roughly chopped (optional)
15g parsley, finely chopped
450g beetroot (about 2 large beetroot), peeled and grated
2 heaped tbsp creme fraiche, or mascarpone
Zest and juice of 1-2 lemons, to taste
1 tsp sea salt flakes
150g goat’s cheese log, crumbled or roughly chopped
Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, then cook the linguine for 10-12 minutes, until al dente or cooked to your liking.
Meanwhile, put the oil and garlic in a frying pan on a medium heat, stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the breadcrumbs, pine nuts (if using) and parsley, and fry, stirring frequently, for four to five minutes, until the breadcrumbs and pine nuts are evenly golden brown. Take off the heat.
When the pasta has just a minute’s cooking time left, add the grated beetroot to the pasta pot and cook for a minute. Drain the now gloriously hot-pink pasta, reserving a mugful of its cooking water, then return the linguine and beetroot to the pan.
Stir and toss in the creme fraiche, the juice and zest of one lemon and the sea salt flakes, then taste and adjust the salt and lemon accordingly, adding the juice and zest of the extra lemon, if you wish. This dish is so simple, it really does need adjusting to taste here.
Pile the pasta into warmed bowls, top with the goat’s cheese and pangrattato, and serve immediately.