 beetroot walnut and watercress pasta beetroot walnut and watercress pasta rosie thu 1232025 1559 meals this recipe brings a delicious balance of summer flavours ideal for an easy evening but also plates beautifully ideal for entertaining nutritionally this dish packs in plenty of fibre with the option to add protein and a good proportion of beneficial micronutrients which are great for those wanting to improve their gut health discover how recipes like this fit into our holistic wellness journey method step 1 put pasta water on to boil step 2 cook shallots and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil add the mushrooms once the shallots have softened and are translucent in appearance step 3 cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the packet instructions indicate this is usually 810 minutes for dry pasta step 4 add the beetroot liquid from the packet and half the walnuts to the shallots and mushrooms add black pepper and fresh or dried thyme heat through the mixture step 5 drain the pasta saving a bit of pasta water and add to the beetroot mixture step 6 toss the pasta in the beetroot and liquid and cook for another minute or so add a squeeze of lemon juice here too step 7 now it s time to plate top the pasta with the rest of the walnuts and fresh watercress protein options  you could add around 80g of a lowfat protein of your choice to boost the protein value in this recipe great protein choices include poached chicken breast an oily fish such as salmon or mackerel chickpeas or roasted tofu chef gino s top tip  if you have a bit more time roasting your own beetroot from scratch is a great way to improve the dish to do this thoroughly scrub your beets leaving the skin on and remove the leaves save the best looking ones for salad for best results roast whole for 1 hour at 180 degrees with a bit of olive oil salt pepper garlic and thyme if you can source organic beetroot the flavour is even richer  off 160g whole wheat linguine 250g beetroot cubed 1cm 100g chestnut mushrooms 70g watercress 40g walnuts crushed 2 cloves garlic minced 1tbsp shallot onion diced 3 sprigs of fresh thyme 12 lemon juiced 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil black pepper and sea salt for seasoning warning contains known allergens 2 30 calories 524 kcal 26 fat 22g 34 saturated fat 2g 10 carbs 76g 25 fibre 14g 50 sugar 13g  protein 18 36 sodium 19mg 1 calcium 99mg 9 iron 4mg 29 vitamin d 4iu 1 magnesium 45mg 11  