Stripy beetroot

I've had my first harvest of beetroot.

4 chioggia beetroots and one boltardy beetroot

The dark one on the right is a normal beetroot (boltardy) and the lighter, brighter red ones are stripy beetroots (chioggia).

I didn't actually cut up the chioggia to see their stripes in their raw state, as I had read you were supposed to roast them whole to retain the stripes, but after roasting them for about an hour (possibly too long for such small specimens) they looked like this:

Roasted and peeled chioggia beetroot

They looked a bit better like this:

Roasted, peeled and chopped chioggia beetroot

We made beetroot tagliatelle with the beetroot though, and their residual stripyness was completely lost in the creamy sauce. The tastiness of the recipe also somewhat lacking. I think I'd have been better off using all standard beetroots, which taste stronger than chioggia, or better still adding some bacon. The mouth feel of the dish was good (i.e. satisfactory fat content), but the taste was a bit bland and I'm usually a fan of what other people call bland, so coming from me that suggests it really could have done with a little something extra in it.