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Beet Soup with Beet Green Pistou
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
 

A vibrant root-to-leaf beet soup recipe that's swirled with crème fraîche and beet green pistou. Colorful, earthy, and wonderfully savory, this beet soup is an early spring delight. Storage beets, those without their greens, have denser flesh and a deeper sweetness.

For this recipe, fresh beets with their greens attached are best.

This recipe begins with oven-steamed beets. Covered in the oven, the sweetness of the beets concentrates, the beets also take up the olive oil, salt, and pepper for excellent flavor. Afterwards, the beet skin comes off easily under cold running water.

Recipe Type: Soup
Keyword: beet soup
Makes: 6 servings
Author: Elizabeth Stark
Ingredients
Soup
  • 2 pounds beets with their greens, rinsed well
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more as needed
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • Water
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1 large leek, rinsed very well
  • 3 - 4 cups rich vegetable broth, store bought or homemade
Pistou
  • 1 bunch beet greens, red stems snapped off (about 4 cups chopped and packed)
  • 1 cup chopped kale greens, collards, or herbs (or use an additional cup of beet greens)
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
To serve
  • 1/4 cup crème fraîche or dairy or non-dairy yogurt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Remove the beets greens and set aside. Arrange beets in a baking dish. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and pepper. Fill baking dish with about 1/4-inch water. Cover tightly with foil. Roast beets 60 - 70 minutes or until beets are yielding to the touch and fork tender. Set aside to cool.
  3. Under cold running water, break off the stem base and rub the skins off the beets. Rough chop the beets.
  4. To prep the leeks, rinse very well. Peel back some of the outer layers of the leeks, if they're very sandy, peel back about 4 of the leek layers to expose the sandy part and swish vigorously in a sink filled with cold water. Repeat a few times and give the sand time to settle. Trim the root end and any dark green leaves, and rough chop the rest.

  5. Set a 4-quart Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. When hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and then the onions and leeks. Add a pinch each sea salt and black pepper. Cook until onions are translucent, 7 - 10 minutes. Add the beets, sauté briefly, and then add 3 cups broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low for a gentle simmer. Cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  6. Working carefully, puree the soup in a blender until very smooth.
  7. Return puree to the pot and set over low heat. If desired, add up to one cup more broth to thin the soup. Take care, because the soup might bubble up and pop at this point. Stir often to release the heat or cover the soup. Add sea salt to taste.

  8. While soup cooks, make the pistou. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to reduce the greens and garlic. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil. Add sea salt. Add more salt or olive oil to taste. Spoon pistou into a bowl.

  9. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Thin crème fraîche with a little bit of water and dollop onto the soup. Use the back of a spoon and make just a few swoops in the soup to swirl. Add a swoosh of pistou. Serve beet soup with extra crème fraîche and pistou on the side.