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I remember the first time that I ate beets – it was at my grandmother’s house and I was in my 30’s. Back then beets looked dirty and frankly, disgusting to me. I had come to my grandmother’s for a visit and for her to meet Stella and at the time my stepson Christopher – none of us had ever eaten beets. My grandmother was not one that you really argued with when it came to what was on your plate – I can still hear her saying “don’t you want to belong to the clean plate club?” She steamed the beets and added some butter and salt – we all loved them and I have been eating beets ever since, pretty much the same way. When I came across this recipe while looking for another one – I knew that I had to make it. With the beets looking lovely at the farmer’s market – it was the perfect time to do it. My grandmother is no longer with us – but as I was skimming the soup – visions of her came flooding into my brain. I so remember her making soup and standing at the stove skimming away!
Beets are a very nutritious root vegetable and belong to the same family as Swiss Chard. They are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, a good source of fiber, vitamin C (tops more than the tubers), magnesium, potassium, folate and manganese. If you want to know more about the nutrient content of beets and then some, check this out http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/beets.html
Beet Soup (from Nourishing Traditions cook book)
Ingredients
6 medium beets
4 Tbl butter
1 quart (4 cups) filtered water
Sea salt and pepper or fish sauce
2 Tbl finely chopped chives
Piima cream or creme fraiche
1. Peel the beets and then coarsely chop.
2. Melt the butter in a medium size stock pot.
3. Add the beets to the butter and saute very gently for about 30 minutes or until tender.
Start
After 30 minutes
4. Add the water and bring to a boil – skimming the top.
5. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes.
6. Let the soup cool slightly and then puree using an immersion blender or regular blender.
7. Season to taste and serve with the cream and chives. The store was out of chives so I used green onion (delicious) and I am on a freshly grated Parmesan kick so I added that instead of the cream.
The color of the soup was divine and the taste wonderful. Stella loved it so much she licked her bowl clean and asked for a second helping!
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I love beets ! Have never made soup with them but will give it a try.
Va.
We just loved it!!
Grandma could never get me to eat beets but Les loves them and we have them in the garden. I will try this but will use chicken broth instead of water 🙂
I, too, never liked beets until adulthood. Maybe it was because my mother would serve pickled beets out of a jar…I introduced them to my daughter (in their natural state) early, so she likes them now also.
I love beets too though Tom doesn’t. Will try this recipe as I ususally just cook in broth and add seasonings and use the immersion blender. I think I use chicken broth. So wonderful that Stella loves the soup!!