Fresh herbs can elevate even the simplest dishes. Every cook must have some herb pots on his balcony
ingredients for 4 servings (cost about 1,5€ pp)
- Salt
- 320g paccheri
- 2 yellow beetroots, steamed (if you cannot find use red ones)
- EV olive oil
- 2 medium onions cut in dice
- 60 g parmigiano reggiano or grana cheese
- black pepper
- Fresh oregano
Fresh herbs are a nuclear weapon for every cook. They can change dish´s look and taste very easily and very cheaply.
In my very small garden I always have pots with mint, spearmint, marjoram, oregano, fennel, basil (2 or 3 kinds of it), sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme, verbena etc, so when I need something I cut an edge. The herbs as recently cut fill not only the dish but also my kitchen with unique aromas which make cooking even more pleasant.
I love paccheri. Some may think that all shapes of pasta have the same taste but they are wrong. Paccheri thickness makes them very hearty and also enhances the flour aromas. If I had to select three pasta formats, I would choose spaghetti, paccheri and linguine.
Have you ever thought which are your favourite pasta shapes? Do it while you prepare today´s dish.
In a skillet we heat some EV sunflower oil and we gently fry the onions, adding some water when needed. We want to create something like a cream of onions, so, intense frying is forbidden. Have in mind that onion has ALWAYS to be tender. That´s why we use it only when we have plenty of time available, otherwise garlic, leek or spring must be our choice.
Let me interrupt to tell you a pair of things about beetroots.
First of all there is no need to peel beetroots before we cook them. It is so easier to do it when they are done.
Second, I suggest you not to boil beetroots but to roast or steam them in order to keep colours alive and aromas strong. Today I have steamed beets and then I peeled and cut them in dice. You must do the same and then add them into the skillet with the already well cooked onions. .
We bring to boil a pot with salted water and we add the paccheri.
When the pasta is ready (1 to 2 minutes less than al dente) we drain it and we transfer it in the skillet with the onion and the beetroots to mantecare with the help of some boiling water from the pot, till we create a creamy sauce. We remove from the heat and we add the half portion of the parmesan, some pepper and the fresh oregano leaves. We continue stirring till homogeneous.
We add the pachheri on the plates and we finish with the rest of the cheese.
