Well, it’s St. Paddy’s Day and I don’t have anything remotely related to today’s celebrations to offer you. Instead? I have beet soup. Yup, not even close. Let’s call this morning’s post a spicy and sweet, vibrantly pink welcome to spring. Who, by the way, has been showing her beautiful face all over Portland much to city’s pleasure. Warm-ish days, crocus sprouting everywhere, the streets are lined with white and pink blossoms. I swear we are positively giddy with our weather. What better way to celebrate than with a bowl of hot pink soup?
This recipe is lifted directly from the pages of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Everyday. Minimally shifted for what I had (or didn’t) have on hand, the soul of this recipe is all Hugh’s and you will love it. It’s a free-flowing recipe with lots of dashes of this and pinches of that, so I suggest using a light hand with the spices until you find your preferred level of warmth.
Cheers!
If you happen to be looking for something St. Patrick’s Day related, feel free to click here for my lamb stew and Irish soda bread recipes.
Spiced Beet Soup
I imagine this soup would be lovely chilled. Do experiment!
Ingredients:
1/2 pound beets, peeled and cut into chunks
A pat of butter
One tablespoon olive oil
1-2 shallots, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2-3 cups chicken stock or water
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Torn parsley leaves
For the yogurt:
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Pinch of caraway seeds
Dash of paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons greek yogurt
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Fennel pollen, optional
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For the soup:
Warm the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft. About 5 minutes.
Stir in the beets, add the stock and a pinch of sea salt and let simmer for about 40 minutes. Until the beets are tender.
Pour the beets into a blender and purée until smooth. Add more stock or water if the soup is too thick.
For the yogurt:
Warm a dry skillet over medium heat and add te cumin and caraway seeds.
Toast lightly for a few minutes then transfer to a mortar and pestle and crush.
Add the paprika, cayenne and coarse sea salt and blend together.
Stir about half of the spice mix and olive oil to the yogurt.
Save the rest of the spice mix for a later use, or for folks who would like to add mor spice to their dish.
Spoon dollops of yogurt to the beet soup and sprinkle with torn parsley leaves.
Dust with fennel pollen and serve warm or at room temp.
