Beetroot Pasta Salad With Sweet & Sour Dressing

Recently, while I was at Godrej Nature’s Basket, I spotted this pack of Beetroot Gluten-Free Fusilli Pasta by Healthy Alternatives. Quite intrigued, I picked it up, along with a few vegetables. I used the ingredients to make a beetroot pasta salad, which I served with a very simple sweet-and-sour dressing.

I must say, the salad tasted delicious. Loaded with vegetables, it was quite filling and nutritious, and we loved having it for dinner. And, before you ask, no, the pasta didn’t smell of beetroot at all! 🙂

Here’s how I made the beetroot pasta salad.

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

For the pasta:

1. 125 g beetroot pasta
2. Salt, to taste
3. 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the vegetables:

1. A few florets of broccoli, chopped
2. A small piece of zucchini, chopped
3. 1 small onion, chopped
4. 1/2 capsicum, chopped
5. 4-5 babycorn, chopped
6. 4-5 mushrooms, chopped
7. A 1/2-inch piece of ginger, very finely chopped or grated
8. 1 tablespoon olive oil
9. Salt, to taste
10. Red chilli powder, to taste

For the garnishing:

1. A few stalks of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
2. 1-1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

For the dressing:

1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
2. Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste
3. A generous dash of mixed Italian herbs (I used Keya)
4. 1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
5. 2 pinches of red chilli powder
6. Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Bring about 1/2 litre of water to a boil, in a pan. Reduce the flame to medium, and add the beetroot pasta, a little salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook on medium flame, stirring intermittently, till the pasta is cooked but not overly mushy.

2. Remove the pasta into a colander and run cold water over it. Keep aside, and let all the excess water drain away.

3. Now, let’s get the veggies ready. For this, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan. Add in the chopped onion, capsicum, baby corn, mushroom, zucchini, broccoli and grated/very finely chopped ginger. Add in salt and red chilli powder to taste. Stir fry on medium flame till the veggies are cooked, but not overly mushy. Remove from flame and keep aside.

4. Now, let’s get the dressing ready. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the ingredients for the dressing as stated above. Ensure that everything is well incorporated together. Keep aside.

5. Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a pan. Keep aside.

6. Now, assemble the salad. Take the cooked pasta in a large mixing bowl, and add the stir-fried veggies, the dressing, the finely chopped coriander and the toasted sesame seeds. Toss everything together, gently. Serve warm or at room temperature or chilled.

Notes:

1.This is my second entry to the #pricesyouwilllove contest for food bloggers by Godrej Nature’s Basket.

2. Here’s a round-up of the ingredients I bought from Godrej Nature’s Basket for the dish, and their respective prices.

1. Healthy Alternatives gluten-free beetroot pasta (250 g) – INR 179
2. Yellow zucchini – INR 46.08
3. Babycorn – INR 36.72
4. Mushrooms – INR 60

The total came to INR 321.80.

I didn’t use all of the veggies and pasta to make this dish.

2. Broccoli, ginger, red chilli powder, salt, onion, sesame seeds, honey, lemon juice and olive oil were the other ingredients I used, from my own kitchen. Even if I picked up some more veggies from Godrej Nature’s Basket, I would have been well within budget, I think.

3. Increase or decrease the quantity of red chilli powder, lemon juice and honey that you use, depending upon individual taste preferences.

4. Vinegar can be used in place of lemon juice.

5. Powdered sugar can be used in the dressing, in place of honey.

6. Very finely chopped green chillies can be used in the veggies, in place of red chilli powder.

You like? I hope you will try this out too, and that you will like it as much as we did!

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