Farfalle with Golden Beets, Beet Greens and Pine Nuts

I've been using this recipe since the mid-2010's. I don't boil the beets because the flavor gets lost with that method. In general, I follow the recipe except that I keep Pecorino Romano on hand instead of Parmesan, and add slices of chicken Italian sausage. Otherwise, I would find the dish a little too sweet.

• Anonymous

• Sacramento, CA

• 3/19/2022

I have never boiled beets in my life so I skipped the other reviewers suggestions to roast the beets and stuck to the recipe. Very good! I used red and yellow beets from the garden and liked the way the red ones turned the pasta pale pink. I added a bit of balsamic to help caramelize the onions. Next time I'll try gorgonzola, as readers suggest, and I'm guessing a little lemon zest would be excellent.

• francoiscat

• Seattle, WA

• 6/19/2018

Deelish. I did roast beets and deglazed with balsamic. Easy and quick and made great use of beet greens, which I usually toss in the compost.

• okeydokey

• Birmingham, AL

• 12/1/2016

To me this looked bland but I wanted to get rid of some radishes...very very very positively surprised with the tastiness...cheese and pepper are key.

• jjbarker1

• Phoenix, AZ

• 11/30/2016

Excellent recipe. Tasty, hearty, healthy. I roasted beets as other reviewers suggested, and used red beets (and post-roasting, the colors didn't bleed much). I also made fresh papardelle, which kicked it up 3 notches and topped it with toasted herbed bread-crumbs. I'm trying not to have 3rds right now. My weight says no, but my heart says yes.

• jontreem

• Philadelphia, PA

• 8/22/2016

Very good! As others recommended I roasted the beets and deglazed them with a bit of balsamic vinegar. I let the onions cook for quite awhile to caramelize, and was generous with the garlic. A wonderful combination of flavors -- sweet beets and onions, bitter greens and salty parmesan. A delicious one-dish meal.

• eokeefe

• Portland, OR

• 1/24/2016

This is not a quick dish, but it is very good. I added some garlic powder and hot pepper flakes to the adult portions to kick it up a notch. The kids wanted seconds, so I consider it a hit!

• asusman

• New York, NY

• 7/14/2014

I added sundried tomatoes (and the oil from them) to the recipe and used slivered almonds. I baked the beets (with the s.d.t.) for 10 min at 400 degrees and then added them to the sauté pan. It was spectacular!!!

• AuntieTee

• Michigan

• 6/5/2014

I thought this was rather bland although my family enjoyed it. I will roast the beets next time and maybe add the balsamic that one person suggested.

• JulieGAZ

• Chandler, AZ

• 1/17/2014

I carmelized the onions, roasted the beets, used walnuts instead of pine nuts, and gorgonzola instead of parmesan. It was to die for. The beets and greens were from my garden and it was the most terrific way to honor them.

• cebrewer

• Port Townsend, WA

• 9/12/2013

This was my first foray into beet greens and they're delicious! This recipe was good. The golden beets I had were quite tiny so I added a large red beet. Next time I will definitely roast them per the suggestions of others as they definitely lacked richness being boiled. I also deglazed the pan using balsamic per someone's suggestion and I'm really glad I did as it added a boost of flavor that would have been sorely lacking without. I found this to be quite labor intensive, mostly dealing with peeling those tiny golden beets LOL But I think if I just roast a big batch at once then use some for this recipe it would definitely cut down the prep time.

• diaphanous

• Phoenix

• 5/25/2013

Added lemon, feta instead of Parmesan, crushed red pepper for some heat. Excellent weeknight farmers market meal. I actually really liked the boiled beets- roasted are delicious but I liked the different taste of the boiled since every restaurant seems to roast. Also I added black beans because I wanted some protein and it was all we had- they were surprisingly good.

• star8eav

• New Orleans

• 12/3/2012

Following others' suggestions I roasted my beets--tossed them in olive oil and roasted on a baking tray until soft, after about half an hour at 325. I also replaced the parmesan with goat cheese and caramelized the onions over low heat for about 2 hours. The result was truly delicious--worth four forks with the changes.

• sitagaki

• 11/4/2012

I've made this a few times - fam pleaser. 1st time as written, 2nd I added cooked chicken, 3rd left over ham. Good.

• toocreative1

• 11/4/2012

my 7yo and 4yo loved this pasta. i didn't add goat cheese and did not miss it. however, i did add lemon and subbed swiss chard for the beet greens. the carmelized onions and garlic take this pasta dish over the top!

• engk916

• princeton, nj

• 10/3/2012