Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Pasta

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Beetroot and goat's cheese is an age-old combination. And for a good reason: the strong tang and almost nuttiness of ripened goat's cheese complements the sweet and earthy beetroot flavour so well. The creamy, yet healthy-tasting filling of this girasoli pasta is undoubtedly one of our favourites! What is more, we added some fresh tarragon for another layer of flavour to our Beetroot and Goat's Cheese pasta dish.

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Beetroot and Goats Cheese

Before going to any restaurant I always like to think about what I feel like eating in advance (surprise surprise, merely thinking about food gets me extremely excited). And when it comes to my perfect starter, it has to be a goat's cheese and beetroot tartlet. There is something about the combination that keeps me wanting it again and again. And if I find this on a menu, it is sure to get ordered.

And perhaps that's why we love the beetroot and cheese combination in our cooking so much: we love 5-Ingredient Beetroot and Feta Tart, Beetroot Pasta With Feta and Beetroot Falafel (Vegan)

If you are, however, looking for a quick and simple dish with similar flavours, try our Beetroot Pasta with Feta.

The Inspiration

I personally would have never thought of using beetroot as a pasta filling. Confession time: we have ripped off the base flavour combination from our favourite shop-bought filled pasta - Dell-UGO Beetroot & Goat's Cheese Fiorelli (available from Ocado in the UK). It was simply the best shop-bought pasta we have ever had and, since we love making fresh pasta here at Somebody Feed Seb, I was on a mission to replicate it at home.

It wasn't difficult to do. Anything that contains goat's cheese simply cannot taste bad, in my opinion. However, I'll go as far as to say that I think my version tastes even better. I decided to make the girasoli pasta stronger tasting by using ripened goat's cheese and adding fresh tarragon for an extra burst of flavour.

What is Girasoli Pasta?

This pasta shape gets its name from a beautiful sunflower (girasoli means sunflower in Italian). It is essentially a round ravioli with a fluted edge. Use the same technique as making the ravioli (find all the information on filled pasta shapes here). We opted to use a girasoli stamp to make ours.

Method: How to Make Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Pasta?

STEP 1: Make Pasta Dough

Place the flour onto a kitchen surface and make a well in the centre. Crack the egg into it and gradually mix with your hands. Knead the dough until the dough is soft, elastic and pliable. This will take about 10 minutes. If your dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of water. If it's too wet and sticky, add a bit of flour.

Wrap a ball of dough in clingfilm and leave the pasta to rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.

Divide the pasta dough into 4. One piece at a time (keeping other pieces wrapped to avoid drying out) roll out the pasta into a long thin strip about 1mm in thickness.

STEP 2: Make the Beetroot Puree

Add the chopped beetroot, parmesan, tarragon and cream cheese to a food processor and blitz to a paste. I like some bits of beetroot remaining for texture but you may choose to have it completely smooth.

STEP 3: Assemble and Cook

Spray your pasta sheets with a little water. Place rounds of thinly sliced boat's cheese spacing them out by 5-6cm. Then add a generous teaspoon of beetroot mixture on top.

Place the other strip directly on top draping the dough sheet into space between filling to make sure not much air is trapped in between. Press down between the mounds of filling to seal. Using a cookie cutter (we used 6cm) or a girasoli stamp, cut even sized circles with the filling in the middle. Place them on a lightly dusted board/ tray (we use semolina flour for dusting).

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Carefully drop the girasoli pasta into the pan. Shake the pan by the handles gently to ensure the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom or each other. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.

STEP 4: Make the Tarragon Butter Sauce

To make a sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan, and add the tarragon and some salt.

Serve the girasoli pasta with a generous drizzle of tarragon butter on top.

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Other Homemade Filled Pasta Recipes

We love LOVE love home-made pasta! And we sure hope you liked our Beetroot and Goats Cheese Pasta. But if you are looking for other ideas for your next pasta extravaganza, have a look at our favourite recipes below:

• Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna with Dill Sauce
• Spinach & Cream Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Butter
• Butternut Squash Cappelletti with Sage Butter

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