"What a great recipe! Different! And Delicious! I didn't have enough parsley, so I substituted a package of fresh baby spinach, using the same blanching technique for the pesto. Worked out great! And I did cut up the beets at the end, before mixing them with the pasta, so they were distributed throughout the dish. Also, I was surprised to see the beets being cooked without being peeled first. I've always peeled them. So for this dish, I tried to do it the same way but...last second...I had to grab a peeler and run it over them before putting them in the pot. Old habits die hard, I guess.