Beet Soup (Zupa Botwinkowa)
This vibrant dish holds a truly special place in my family's heart, making it our all-time favorite culinary delight. Its rich, earthy hues and abundant nutritional content never fail to evoke cherished memories of springtime gatherings and celebrations. Bursting with a myriad of enticing colors and essential nutrients, it serves as an exceptional source of folate and vitamin C. Furthermore, the leafy greens accompanying the beets provide an abundant supply of vital nutrients including potassium, calcium, iron, beta carotene, and additional vitamin C. In fact, according to folklore, beets are even attributed with the remarkable ability to alleviate headaches and various forms of discomfort, such as toothaches. Surprisingly, despite containing the highest sugar content among vegetables, beets remain remarkably low in calories, boasting just about 50 calories per cup.
Yield: 5 Litres
INGREDIENTS: you will need 6 litre stock pot
Bunch of beets (4-5 individual beets peeled and chopped) and green tops chopped finely
1 medium chopped peeled parsnip
2 medium organic carrots( no need to peel) chopped if you have green tops, save it to add along with beet tops
1 chopped small leek
1 chopped small onion
1 medium yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
3.5 litres of vegetable broth plus extra filtered water
2 fresh bay leaves
4 large garlic cloves- finely chopped
2-3 peppercorns
2-3 allspice
1 cup fermented beet juice( called beet kvass) refer to recipe under fermented foods
1/2 cup of chopped fresh dill
5 tablespoons of butter or avocado oil
3 tablespoons of organic all purpose flour
1 cup of 14% sour cream
sea salt and ground pepper for taste
Garnish to serve the soup: 6 medium size boiled yukon gold potatoes, 4 hard boiled eggs and finely chopped fresh dill and parsley.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Chop all vegetables: beets, onion, carrots, celery, parsnip, garlic, leek & potato. Keep chopped beet greens aside until ready to add to soup at the end of cooking.
2. Sweat all vegetables in 2 tablespoons of melted butter for 5 minutes under cover. Sweating vegetables is a technique that uses a gentle heat to soften vegetables and gently draw out their flavors
3. Add vegetable broth, bay leaves, peppercorns and allspice. Bring soup to boil and bring down the temperature just to simmer. Cook for 40 minutes until vegetables are cooked.
4. Add fermented Beet Juice and chopped garlic. Simmer for 5 minutes
5. Add chopped beet greens, 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill and simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Prepare blond roux. Use even amount of butter and flour. Melt the butter in a thick saucepan. Sift the flour and add to the butter and mix well with wooden spoon. Cook on low heat. Cooking must cease as soon as the colour of the roux begins to change.
7. Moisten blond roux with soup broth or hot water. Stir it in the saucepan until nice and smooth.
8. Pour mixture into the soup. Cover soup and bring it to boil. Note: Thickening the soup with a flour mixture keeps the soup from curdling so easily.
9. In the glass bowl combine sour cream with warm stock or soup that has been slightly cooled off.
10. Stir into soup and then REMOVE from the heat. Do Not Boil! Boiling will cause the soup to curdle.
11. Serve garnished with boiled egg and potato. Sprinkle with fresh dill and parsley.
Voilà! Beet Soup for everyone!
