Borscht (or Chilled Beet Soup for the English Speaking)

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For dinner last night whipped up a refreshing chilled beet soup last night to cool off from the humidity and “oven-ness” of swampy DC. I pulled the beets fresh from the garden and quickly turned them into soup!

Chilled Beet Soup
adapted from Martha Stewart Living

1 1/2 pounds red beets, scrubbed and stalks trimmed to 1/2 inch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 carrots
1 leek, trimmed of tough green ends and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 cup fresh dill, loosely packed
1/4 cup white wine
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 small cucumber, peeled and seeded

Fill a medium saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Add beets, and boil until beets are fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Drain beets, reserving cooking water, and let stand until cool enough to handle. Rub off skins.

Heat olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Coarsely chop carrots, and add to stockpot. Add leek, salt, and pepper. Coarsely chop half of the dill, and add to stockpot. Cook until carrots are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Cut beets into 1-inch chunks, and add to stockpot. Add wine, 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid, and chicken stock. Let simmer until broth is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the stockpot from heat, and transfer hot soup to a large bowl. Set bowl in ice-water bath to cool; skim off any fat. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Run soup through a fine mesh sieve.

Slice cucumber to serve on top or serve with a dollop of sorbet… I used cucumber vodka in the photo.

Enjoy!

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Filed under Food, Gardening, Healthy, Recipes, Vegetarian

Tags: beet, borscht, Food, recipe, soup, summer, vegetable