Whether in your garden, CSA, or at the local market, beets have been everywhere this season. If you’re lucky enough to find watermelon or golden beets, they are a lovely addition to this recipe. This soup contains a medley of red, golden, and watermelon beets. Roasting the beets brings out their sweetness and turns the soup a lovely magenta-purple color. Homemade oxtail stock was used in this recipe, making it both a blood-cleansing and gut-healing soup, however vegetable stock can be substituted for the beef stock. This soup can be enjoyed at room temperature or chilled – perfect for hot summer days. For additional creaminess, add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.
This recipe was provided by Joanna Balz, food enthusiast and nutrition graduate student at MUIH, who is an intern in the nutrition clinic of our Natural Care Center beginning February 2013.
4 servings
45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2-3 pounds of beets, washed and peeled
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil in liquid form
- Celtic sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 bunch fresh dill
- 6 cups beef stock (or vegetable stock)
- Splash of half and half or heavy cream (optional)
- Sour cream or yogurt for garnish (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the washed and peeled beets into a roasting dish and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss with hands. Roast for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice, until a fork pierces a piece without much resistance.
Place the remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan and cook the onions over medium to medium-high heat until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat to low and continue to cook until onions are golden brown, another 8-10 minutes.
Once the beets have finished roasting, add to the saucepan, along with the stems of the dill and beef stock and turn the heat up to medium-high, bringing the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook the soup, stirring occasionally, until it is well colored, about 15 minutes. Remove the dill from the soup. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
Use an immersion blender (or transfer cooled soup to a blender) and blend until desired consistency. Add a splash of half and half for extra creaminess. Garnish with leftover roasted beets, yogurt, or sour cream and enjoy.
Beets support the blood, heart, liver, and large intestine. Beet juice is high in boron, a mineral that is critical for the production of sex hormones—thus beets are considered to have aphrodisiacal properties. Betacyanine, the pigment that gives color to beets, is a potent anti-carcinogenic. Beets also are used to treat anemia, help purify the blood, are anti-inflammatory, and help eliminate acid crystals from the kidney.