For lunch today, I made an Immune Boosting Potato and Beet Soup. Beets are a good source of Vitamin C, folate, manganese, potassium, and copper and are a great addition to any diet. If they are so good for you, then why is it so hard to eat them? For me, it’s because of their earthy flavor (which many friends adore). My family has never been a big beet eater. Because we often get fresh produce from the local organic farm, we have been given the opportunity to try things we normally wouldn’t eat.
I had several (okay like 9) small beets from the organic farm that I needed to use up and finally decided that today was the day. I have to say that the result was REALLY GOOD. Wow. This Immune Boosting Potato and Beet Soup is a combination of a Russian Borscht soup and my favorite Potato Leek Soup (without the leeks, though adding those would have been really good, I just didn’t have any). I can and will definitely eat this again. I think boiling the beets as long as I did helped soften and sweeten their earthy flavor, and because it’s a soup, we got to keep all the nutrients and put them into our bodies. Double win! To make this soup I peeled the beets (after removing the tops and bottoms) and placed them in a medium sized stock pot. (Note, your fingers WILL get stained red if you don’t wear gloves. Also, just FYI, beet greens are REALLY good for you. You can wash and freeze the greens and use them in smoothies! Or if you have rabbits, give them the greens. They LOVE them.) Then I washed 7 small red potatoes and put them into the stock pot (skins and all – extra fiber, right?). I peeled a yellow onion, cut it in half, and placed it into the stock pot as well. I covered everything with water, turned the burner on high, and brought everything to a boil.
While it was heating up, I added 2 T of chicken bouillon and about 1 tsp. of salt (this will definitely be “to taste” for you). I let the soup boil for approximately 20 minutes. I pricked the potatoes and beets with a fork to make sure that they were cooked and tender. Once I was happy with how cooked they were, I turned off the heat. I took scoops of the soup, making sure to get some beets and some potatoes as well as onion, and placed them into my Vitamix blender. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but can I just restate how much I LOVE my Vitamix? It makes making creamy soups a breeze. SO smooth!
There was a lot of beet soup, so I had to process it in batches. I poured the blended soup into a separate bowl and then processed a second and third batch until all the soup was blended. I stirred the blended soup together, tested it to see if it had enough salt, and then served it warm. The Immune Boosting Potato and Beet Soup is a vibrant red and so pretty. This would make a great Valentine’s meal for that someone special.
Dave thought it would be a good idea to make a HUGE hoagie turkey sandwich to go with it. It definitely completed the meal.
So there it is. Quick, easy, nutritious and delicious! Here is the recipe:
- 7-9 small beets, peeled
- 7 red potatoes, washed well with skins on
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 T chicken bouillon (or to taste)
- 1 tsp salt
- Water (enough to cover ingredients with a little bit extra)
- Place beets, washed potatoes, and onion into a large stock pot.
- Add water until all the ingredients are covered with about an inch of head space.
- Add chicken bouillon and salt.
- On high heat, bring entire mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pricked with a fork.
- Once done, turn off heat. Process soup in a blender (I used a Vitamix. You will need to do several batches.) and blend until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve warm.
