Farfalle with Golden Beets and Gorgonzola

This pretty farfalle pasta dish with golden beets and Gorgonzola was the best beets dish I've ever tasted!

The secret was caramelizing the onions with a little vermouth and then saying, "Hey, why don't I add a little more vermouth when I combine the beets to remove any bitterness." And, then, heck, having added a little butter and vermouth, I might as well add a little half-and-half when I add the pasta. The result tasted delicious, but was a little too yellow. Happily, a little chopped watercress in addition to the watercress garnish highlighted the blue veined Gorgonzola and made this look as good as it tasted.

Goat cheese is often used in combination with beets, but on a taste test, I found it too creamy and mild. Salty Gorgonzola really hit the spot. I imagine feta would be awfully good too.

So what else is fabulous about this dish? It's certainly fancy enough to prepare for guests and extremely economical! And using golden beets, you won't be sitting up at the table looking like Lady Macbeth. Gotta love that!

Farfalle with Golden Beets & Gorgonzola

5-6 small -medium golden beets
1/2 onion, sliced very thinly
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp vermouth
1 oz Gorgonzola, slivered
1-2 tbsp half-and-half (I didn't measure - use your own judgment)
1 tbsp chopped watercress
salt & pepper
watercress to garnish

6oz farfalle

Scrub the golden beets and cut off the stalks leaving the tails intact. Steam the beets until very tender.

Heat the oil in a skillet and start cooking the onions over lowest heat. Start boiling water for the pasta.

When the onions are soft (10 mins), add a drop of vermouth and cook until the liquid is absorbed. While the onions are cooking, peel and slice the beets and cut slices in half. Cook the pasta. When the onions are cooked, add the beets to the pan with a little vermouth, butter and salt and pepper. When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the beets with half-and-half. Cook for a 2-3 minutes and add the chopped watercress and shavings of Gorgonzola. Turn off the heat and stir until well combined. Serve with a sprig of watercress and crumbs of Gorgonzola.