Everyone was making borscht this week, and it made me envious. I have a whole bunch of roasted beets that were frozen from the 2014 harvest, and I had hardly made a dent into this treasure trove. So, armed with my 1 lb of frozen and roasted red bull's blood beets, I embarked on this odyssey. Carrots are the surprise partner in this satisfying soup that I expect will be just as good cold the next day.
1 lb roasted beets (peeled and rough chopped)
1 gigantic carrot, peeled and rough chopped (about 1 C)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 T rough chopped garlic (Hmm this is a pretty rough dish!)
4 C chicken broth
1/2 C water (if needed)
2 T lemon juice
1 t fresh chopped thyme (plus more to garnish)
salt and pepper
1/4 C creamy blue cheese dressing
Beets roast in their skins in oven for 40 minutes at 375 or so. Test to see if tender by poking with a fork. If done, cool. Then slip off skins and chop into quarters or so. Set aside.
Put carrot, onion and garlic into saucepan with butter and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 5-10 minutes until onions begin to cook. Add chicken broth and simmer until carrots are completely done (about 10 minutes). Add beets and simmer until all veggies are fork tender and warmed through.
Put in blender or use immersion blender to blend all ingredients together. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit of water. Add lemon juice and thyme. Taste and re-season with S&P if needed.
Serve in a bowl with a teaspoon of blue cheese dressing on top (stir it with a chopstick or toothpick or knife to make a cool, swirly design).
Serves 4
(I know, I know: the picture doesn't have the cool, swirly blue cheese dressing. I originally took the picture to enter into a vegan contest--using vegetable broth in place of chicken broth, and using miso instead of butter.. . . and, of course, dairy is not vegan, so I left out that great swirly stuff. But trust me, you want that swirly blue cheese dressing. It makes the soup burst with flavor.)
