Name: Farro Spaghetti, Beets, Brown Butter, Poppy Seeds
Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients: 1 pound red beets, cleaned; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup water; 1 pound good-quality farro or whole wheat spaghetti; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 heaping tablespoon poppy seeds; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 cup pasta water; 1/4 pound goat's milk cheese

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Farro Spaghetti, Beets, Brown Butter, Poppy SeedsBen Fink

Recipes from two New York women respected in the food business influenced this dish: In her book A Fresh Taste of Italy, Michele Scicolone (once my Brooklyn landlady) offers Spaghetti with Rubies, where the rubies are chunks of roasted beets sautéed in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. At her legendary Brooklyn trattoria Al di Là, chef/co-owner Anna Klinger serves ravioli stuffed with beets tossed in brown butter and poppy seeds. Beets, together with poppy seeds, are typical in dishes of the northern Italian regions of Friuli and Alto Adige. With all these factors in mind, I came up with my own combination of pasta with beets and poppy seeds.

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