Stunning Beet Soup

Sometimes I feel sorry for beets enjoying the reputation of a one-dish-ingredient. Maybe it is just my Eastern European sentiment, but I feel whenever we say beets, we mean borsch. Oh, there is one or two traditional salads that feature (we all know difference between “star” and “feature”, right?) beets and grace every post-Soviet festive table. So much for the beet glory, huh?

I adore beets for their vibrant color only a few other vegetables can beat and the bittersweet taste. Beets deserve serious attention of any self-respecting cook that also cares for the well-being of their near and dear. Like its relatives from the amaranth family (such as chard, spinach and quinoa) beets boast special pigments that have a profound effect on our nervous system and result in a range of health benefits not readily available in other plants.

Noteworthy, beets is an astonishing liver cleanser. “So what?” You might ask me as one friend who raised her brows and said, “I did not not know my liver needs a cleanse”. Everyone’s liver needs a cleanse once in a whole as the poor little thing carries the toxic burden of our not-always-so-savory lives. Quick to please any sweet tooth cravings? Going to be after 10 pm and missing the precious span between 10 pm and 2 am when liver undergoes its cleanse naturally? Then get your prescription: beets! Beets also come at service for anyone dealing with anemia. The sweet and bitter earthy taste of the vegetable works particularly well for Vata and Pitta (preferably, cooked), but likely to agitate Kapha dosha.

In winter I eat beets 3-4 days a week in my soups or salad and at times even solo (well, almost): I bake whole beets, skins on, in the oven, then slice them paper-thin, kind of carpaccio style, and pour a decent serving of pesto freshly blitzed from assorted herbs I happen to have handy. I also make beet kvas, a natural probiotic that cleanses the blood as well as nourishes the gut. Not to forget the beet greens and stems that I sauté in olive oil along with other greens, Aegean style, or turn into a delicious pie filling.

Today I want to share my beet love in the form of the beet soup recipe, quick to make; and if you happen to have some roasted/steamed beet handy, your soup is ready in a flash. Vegetable soups like this - easy to cook, warming to eat and easy to digest - have become my winter dinner staple.

I got the idea from book Morocco by Jeff Koehler. I had not come across this soup during the five weeks I spent in total touring the country, but the deep magenta color soup, beautiful enough to grace the book cover, caught my attention. Beets and potatoes boiled, seasoned with dry ginger plus black pepper and drizzled with olive oil sounded like a blueprint for a simple yet exotic soup.

I worked around the recipe to make it mine; in particular, I have replaced the potato with carrot and celery for the sake of variety and definitely have expanded the list of spices.

I also thought of a trick that halves the cooking time: instead of 40-45 min the Jeff’s version takes this one is ready in only 15-20 min. And research says that minimal cooking time for beets is critical to keep the key nutrients in. What’s the secret? Fine grater. Once in an extreme rush I grated my soup ingredients on the fine grater instead of finely dicing them and found out that you get your almost creamy soup without using the blender in half the cooking time. Obviously, when you cook for the family of 12, forget the fine grater, but a quick soup for two or four makes it worthwhile.

Beets flourish in the company of sweet and sour; besides they don’t mind moderate bitter. That’s why the vegetable reveals all its glory in the presence of toasted seeds (I go sunflower), herbs and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Don’t view these additions as optional: they are mandatory to make this beet soup into something you’d want to cook and eat again and again. Beets also appreciates its loyal comrade, sour cream that in the places like Turkey can be swapped for the thick creamy yogurt. Just saying. All the experienced borsch lovers know that anyway.