Beet/Carrot/Ginger Soup

Turkey Tracks: Recipes: October 2, 2020

Beet/Carrot/Ginger Soup

The root veggies are in full abundance now, so let’s make some delicious soup with some of them.

Start by roasting some beets. Mine are golden beets. Just put your beets in a covered container that can go in the oven, add an inch or so of water, cover the beets, and bake them at 350 degrees until a sharp knife pierces to their centers. Medium size beets take about 40 minutes. Let them cool for a bit, slice off the ends, and the peel will slide off if rubbed with something rough, like a paper towel. Chop, use some in salads, and reserve the rest for this soup.

When you are ready to start your soup, pan fry some carrots and onions in a heavy pot until they start to color a bit. Season with salt. I used duck fat. Add the chopped ginger at this stage—you don’t need to peel it. Just it into small pieces. I didn’t add garlic, but you could.

Add some stock or water—whatever you have. This is chicken stock with its fat intact. And I added herbs from the garden: tarragon, a touch of mint, and some basil leaves I froze whole. See how green the basil leaves stayed in the freezer? This is probably too much stock to add, so I will cook it all down a bit. But for a quick and flavorful soup, add less stock—just enough to cover the veggies by an inch or so.

When the stock is hot, add the roasted beets and cook until the carrots are tender.

You could eat the soup in this “chunky” form.

Or you could blend it—as French country cooking would do. I love my “boat motor” appliance for this task as I don’t have to try to put hot soup in a blender. (I like the type that plugs in as the battery ones I’ve had don’t hold up over time due to the battery stopping to take a charge.)

Here’s my lunch, which I’ve topped with a swirl of heavy raw cream. And it is delicious! This soup is naturally very sweet. On the side: tangy goat cheese and Mary’s Gone crackers.

I have enough soup for other meals and will freeze some too. The frozen soup can be eaten in this form or added to another soup to deepen flavor.