Pici with Roasted Beet Sauce
Pici is the big fat brother of spaghetti, and has no problem flaunting its big belly full of gluten. However, these pici actually have a really interesting history. The name comes from the Italian word “appiciare,” which is the method of how these pastas have been hand rolled for centuries. This simple and hearty peasant food dates back as far as the Etruscans and Sienese in a simple flour and water recipe. Over time, it has changed slightly, and now on the weekends, some will add a little egg to enrich the pasta. Which seems so unnecessary considering how heavy pici is in default mode.
With a pasta as thick and heavy as pici, you want to either lean in and create something over-the-top decadent, or you can try to balance things out and go a little more healthy-ish. This recipe leans a little healthy and celebrates those mid-autumn beets that survived the first few cold snaps and got a little more plump compared to the first harvests. Roasting the beets tames the earth flavors a little, and mellows it out, which makes it perfect for a sauce. If you don’t like beets, you might not like this. But if you like beets, this is 100% for you. And if you don’t know if you like beets, well, here’s your chance with these bright pink big boys.
The Recipe
Servings: 4
Prep time: 15 mins.
Cook time: 1.25 hrs.
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment:
Blender or food processor
Notes:
N/A
Ingredients & Mise en Place
• 16 oz. pici
• 3 large beets - peeled & quartered
• 1 medium onion - quartered
• 1 head of garlic - top cut off exposing the interior cloves
• ½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened original almond milk
• Dry red wine
• Fresh thyme
• Pecorino Romano
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper
Preparation
01.
Preheat your oven to 400°F. As it warms, place your beets, onion, and garlic on a sheet pan and coat evenly with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Rotate veggies about every 20 minutes, and roast for roughly a total of one hour. Pull from the oven and set to rest for 5-10 minutes or cool enough to touch. Once cool enough to touch, place the veggies into the food processor with about 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil and puree until smooth - about 3-4 minutes.
02.
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
03.
Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil to a large deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add the beet mixture to the pan and once warm, add in the broth and almond milk, stirring frequently. Next, add in a little red wine - to taste, you want the wine to add a little acid but not be a predominant flavor - a tablespoon or two should suffice. Continue to cook at a strong simmer to reduce and thicken while the pasta cooks. Add in the thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.
04.
Pici is a thick pasta, so expect it to cook for about 20 minutes until al dente when it’s not fresh. Fresh should take only a few minutes.
05.
When the pasta has finished cooking, remove from heat, reserve a little pasta water (about a cup,) and strain. Bring the sauce to a low heat and add the pasta. If the sauce seems a little thick, you can add a couple of splashes of pasta water to thin it out a little. Stir and cook until evenly coated.
06.
Divide into 4 equal portions and top with a copious amount of freshly grated pecorino romano.
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