Beetroot Tagliatelle with Carrot Top Pesto

You'll need

• 2 medium sized beetroots - about 300g
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 350g plain 00 grade flour - you may need more depending on how wet your beets are
• 1 heaped tsp salt

To make 4 portions

1. Preheat the oven to 190C
2. Chop the beetroot (skin on) into thick wedges and toss in the olive oil.
3. Roast the chopped beetroot in a heatproof pan for about 20-30 minutes.
4. Leave the beetroot to cool and then rub the skins off gently with a paper towel or your fingers if you don't mind getting them pink!
5. Pop them into a food processor or blender.  I use a Froothie as the Magimix doesn't quite get it smooth enough.
6. Add the eggs and egg yolk and then blitz it all up together.
7. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and then add in the flour and salt until you get a stiff dough.  It will be sticky to start but keep adding a little more flour and knead away and you'll get a nice smooth dough in about 15 minutes.
8. Shape the dough into a ball and leave to rest for a couple of hours.
9. Cut the dough into eight pieces.  I find the easiest way to do this is cut in half and then in half again and then again.
10. Flatten each piece into an oblongy shape and cover well in flour.
11. Put it through the machine once to flatten.  Flour it and then pass it through again.  Repeat until you have it just a few mm thick.
12. Finally pass it through the tagliatelle setting and then leave on a floured work surface, over a laundry rack or the back of a chair to dry as you finish the rest of the pieces in the same way.
13. To cook the pasta bring an enormous pan of water to the boil and add salt to your taste.
14. Dust off as much flour as you can before cooking each batch of pasta to avoid the water becoming too starchy.  It only takes a few minutes to cook.
15. Drain, drizzle in a little olive oil to stop it sticking.