Pink Spaghetti with Radishes and Bacon

• By Ruby
• February 13, 2013
• 7 Comments

This spaghetti is so pretty in PINK!

So cliche, I know.

But I’ve always liked the color pink.  It’s just cute, girly, feminine, etc.  Pink strawberry milk, pink bubblegum, pink nail polish, pink hello kitty stationary, and pink donuts.  I want a poster on my wall of all those things together.

Well, I needed to use up these radishes here before they shriveled up, quick…PRONTO!

And then lately I’ve been looking for black spaghetti here, there, and everywhere.  See,  I saw it on a cooking show and was overly fascinated by this totally different colored pasta.  It just looks so weird!  I like weird.  And then I just quit looking…

But with Valentine’s day tomorrow I’ve been seeing pinks and reds a lot.  Which led to the idea of not black but  PINK Spaghetti.  With pink-ish radishes.

I boiled the spaghetti as usual and added just one slice of a red beet.  Then I drained the pasta and rinsed it with cold water.  After that I chopped up the beet to small pieces and pressed it through the garlic press.  I then tossed the little minced bits of ruby-red colored beets with the spaghetti until the pasta looked pretty and pink.

I just LOVE the pink color.  And with the addition of sauteed radishes to add a little more pink color.

Can’t get enough of pink!

MAYBE it wouldn’t be a good idea to serve this to little boys.  I mean, I  know my little nephew would shove it back to me and say “Ruby, this is for girls!”

What’s that?  You’re not a big fan of radishes?  These radishes are sauteed in butter and enhanced with little bits of crispy bacon.  I’m not used to cooked radishes but this was surprisingly good and I’m sure even radish skeptics would not have a problem with this.  There’s no bitterness and of course bacon just makes it all better.

Pink Spaghetti. Radishes.  Bacon.  Butter.  What’s not to like?

Pink Spaghetti with Radishes and Bacon

Print recipe

Yields

4

Pink spaghetti dyed naturally with minced beets and sauteed with radishes and bacon.

Ingredients

• 1/2lb spaghetti (dried)
• 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
• 1 cup radishes (sliced and halved)
• 2-3 bacon strips
• 1 medium slice beet
• 1/2 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Optional

• parmesan cheese

Note

Adapted from Lighter and Local

Directions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water with salt to boil. Add a medium thick slice of a peeled beet. Add spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. Drain, rinse well with cold water. Chop the beet into small pieces to fit into garlic press. Press one by one into garlic press. Toss the minced beet with spaghetti until all the pasta is pink.

Step 2

Cook bacon until very crispy. Drain on paper towels.

Step 3

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet, add radishes and cook, stirring constantly until translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until radishes are tender. Add the chopped or crumbled bacon and saute together for a few minutes more.

Step 4

Add the spaghetti and toss together, adding another tablespoon of butter and cooking a few minutes more until all combines together.