03 August 2011

Cold (or Hot) Ginger Beet Soup


Summer is supposed to be a relaxing time, but with gardening, family, and ferociously hot weather, the summer of 2011 has not turned out to be full of down-time. Early mornings, when the house is still cool, there has been plenty of cooking going on, a lot of it having to do with cold soup, since this is one of the few meals people feel like eating when the thermometer zooms in the direction of three digits.

Although my Lemon Artichoke recipe is my signature cold soup, this summer there have been times when Ginger Beet has run a close second. This soup turns out to have an unusually vivid color, and a taste to match: both bold and soothing. My family is divided on beets as a hot vegetable, but they all seem to enjoy the taste of this soup.



As a bonus, we save the beet greens and use them sautéed Italian style, in olive oil with garlic, to serve with pasta or grilled meat. 

Ingredients
1 ½ lbs. beets trimmed
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, coarsely chopped, and washed
2 cloves garlic
3 heaping Tbsp chopped ginger
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut up
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbsp chopped dill
1/3 cup Greek style yogurt, sour cream, or crème fraiche

Directions
1.    Put the beets in a pot with water to cover and boil until tender. Run under cold water and slip off the skins, and any remaining stalks and stems. Cut into quarters.
2.    In a soup pot, heat the oil and cook the leeks, garlic, and ginger until just soft.
3.    Add the beets, cucumber, broth, water, dill, and lemon juice. Cook 20 minutes.
4.    Cool and puree. The yogurt can be added at this stage, which will turn the soup PINK, or added as a dollop to the chilled soup when served.