Beet "gazpacho" - cold soup with beets, apple and spices
Lisa Salkovitz Kohn
Last month my husband and I had a terrific beet soup at Le Moutardier des Papes, an amazing restaurant in Avignon, France. I’ve been trying to duplicate it ever since, and this is the closest I have come. If you want to try out your French, the recipe is at http://tinyurl.com/3jul7g3. I’m still playing with the spicing…I added a bit of cardamom, and would consider going in a different direction with cumin. Also – the original we had and this recipe use whipping cream, which I avoid like the plague, but I found Stonyfield’s yogurt a bit too sour…a rich “greek” yogurt, slightly thinned, might be a better substitute.
In any case, here’s my translation:
Chilled soup of beets, apples and spices
Serves 4 as an appetizer or 8 as an amuse-bouche
350g beets (~3/4 lb., or 6 small)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 apple (flavorful!)
4 pinches of Knorr’s “4 epices” mix (don’t know if you can get it in US – it has ground pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon…I’d add cardamom, too)
½ l. chicken or vegetable broth (~2 cups)
15 cl. Whipping cream (~5/8 cup)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1. Peel the beets and the apple. Cut the beets into small cubes. Cut the apples into slightly bigger cubes. Peel and mince the garlic and onion.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the garlic and onion and cook over low heat 5 minutes. Add the beets and apple and stir. Stir in the spices.
3. Add the broth and bring it to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat, cover and cook over low heat for about 40 minutes, until the beets and apples are soft.
5. Mix in a blender or food processor [I used an immersion blender], while adding the cream.
6. Chill in the refrigerator.
7. Serve in bowls or small glasses “and let your guests enjoy the taste and the color.”
[At the restaurant, the soup was served with a sheen of very tasty olive oil and a few drops of sweet balsamic vinegar and shreds of apple.]
Enjoy!
Lisa
Cindy Barnard
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Lisa Salkovitz Kohn
There’s lots of room to play around with this recipe! The cream was important for texture and richness…a very mild yogurt or pumpkin might do the same, but I really liked the almost unadulterated beet flavor in the version with cream (unfortunately, for those of us watching cholesterol and calories). Chunky vs. smooth is certainly another choice. I liked it smooth, with the shreds of apple as garnish and the hint of olive oil and balsamic for interest. Very elegant…not your grandmother’s borscht!!
By the way, I realized after I wrote that the spice in the restaurant version was probably ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice mix that DOES usually include cardamom. Like garam masala, there are many versions of ras el hanout, and it is a great mixture to make up and have on hand. One recipe is at http://tinyurl.com/4yy74pp ; another at http://tinyurl.com/mw6ntr. It can probably be purchased here in Chicago at an ethnic grocery…