Creamy Beet Pasta

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Rinse beets and trim the top and bottom. Cut in half if they're large. Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.
3. Place beets in a baking dish with 1 tablespoon water. Cover tightly and roast 45-55 minutes or until beets are fork tender. Cool until you can handle the beets.
4. Using rubber gloves or paper towels, rub the skin off of the beets (gloves recommended). Chop into cubes and set aside.
5. In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in butter until tender.
6. Add cooked onion mixture, beets, (about 2 ½ cups of chopped beets) and broth to a blender. Process until very smooth, you should have about 1 ¼ cups of puree.
7. Add beet puree to a saucepan and slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Add thyme and cayenne pepper, bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Once thickened, turn heat off and stir in cheese.
8. Meanwhile, cook pasta al dente in salted water according to package directions. Drain well, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
9. Toss pasta with sauce, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time if needed.