Inspired by love for Valentine’s day: Ashley loves making healthy dishes for her boyfriend. She wanted to give him something he loved, like pasta, but wanted to find a way to make it more nutritious. Instead of red roses, Ashley made a plate full of red ingredients, using red beets and red tomato sauce. What an unexpected and delightful combination, which did the “trick” if you know what I mean!

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup water
• 20 oz. fresh spiralized beet noodles
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (about ¾ TB)
• 2-3/4 cups canned chopped tomatoes (we used 1 box Pomi diced)
• 1/8 tsp. ground oregano
• 1/8 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• Chives, freshly minced to garnish
  
  

1- Preheat oven to 400°.

2- Place cashews in 3/4 cup of hot water and soak for 30 minutes to soften.

3- Arrange beet noodles on a parchment lined, or Silpat lined baking sheet and toss with lemon juice. Place the beets on the middle rack of the oven and cook for approximately 25 minutes. Some of the pieces will be crisp and some not. The different textures are good.

4- Drain cashews, reserve the soaking liquid. Add cashews and 1/3rd cup of water to the food processor, or blender, and puree briefly, leaving the nuts slightly chunky for texture. Add additional liquid to process the cashews, if needed. You can also use a little bit of juice from the canned, chopped tomatoes.

5- Sauté garlic in a large saucepan with a little water, to prevent from sticking and stir constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook over medium heat.

6- Stir in oregano, paprika and onion powder until combined. Stir every couple of minutes. Taste after about 10 minutes to see how the flavors are developing.

7- Continue to cook and stir every so often for about 20-25 minutes until slightly reduced and flavorful.

8- Stir in blended cashews.

9- Add booked beet noodles into the pan with the tomato sauce and toss with tongs, ever so gently to coat the noodles evenly.  

10- Serve topped with minced chives and LOVE!