Here it is - the recipe you've all (?) been waiting for... my version of Savory Beet Soup.

Here's the final result:



Actually, I've had a chowder bowlful of it (yes, the one above) for my brunch - which I usually have instead of a breakfast and lunch. Now I'm pleasantly replete with all that delicious nutritious yummy-ness inside me.

So here's the scoop on the soup:

Here's where I found the original recipe from which I began this odyssey.

You may have noticed that I find it very hard to just make a recipe according to directions. I always have to add to or subtract from it as I see fit. No different here. I added a lot and subtracted a little. I eliminated the BAY LEAF as it just didn't smell right for this soup.

So this is MY OWN VERSION of the Savory Beet Soup, and just to let you know, it came out very good, indeed.

Bex's Savory Beet Soup

Ingredients:
1) 4 RED BEETS, peeled & quartered
2) 2 Med. yellow ONIONS, peeled & chopped into 8ths
3) 3 Med. sized russet POTATOES, peeled & cut into 8ths
4) 1 Cup fresh PINEAPPLE, diced (YES!)
5) 1 Tablespoon SUGAR-in-the-raw

6) 2 Cups low or no-sodium CHICKEN BROTH
7) 4 Cups WATER
8) 1 Tablespoon BUTTER
9) Splash of OLIVE OIL

10) HERBS & SPICES (you can use any you like but I used about 1 teaspoon of each:
- salt
- pepper
- fennel seed
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- Penzey's Fox Run spice mix
- cinnamon

11) 1-2 Cups chopped and cooked (in toaster oven) KIELBASA (if desired) (bacon or ham could be good too)

12) 1/2 lemon (juice)
13) Half & half (as needed - 1/2 to 1 cup at end)
14) Sour Cream (dollop on top)

* * * *

Method:
Put beets, potatoes, and onions into chicken stock & water in a large pot and get boiling.



Then add in your herbs and spices. (I do a smell test when experimenting with these - I sniff the soup first, then take each spice down and open it up and sniff it - if it GOES good with the soup smell, I use it. If not, I don't. Works every time!)


This has to cook on a low simmer for a long time as the beets take a long time to cook. You want them to be pretty soft because you are going to whizz this up to a smooth soup in the end. (I used my IMMERSION BLENDER WAND THINGY).

This will boil slowly on the stovetop for a couple of hours.

Then once you've turned off the heat, add the lemon juice, the half & half and stir to combine.

Whizz it all up into a smooth soup with either a food processor or an immersion blender.

Add the cooked sizzling Kielbasa and stir. Add a dollop of sour cream on top.

I love soups. I don't make them enough. I also love experimenting with soups. This is my first BEET SOUP ever, and I have to say that it's not going to be the last. It was so good, our dinner bowls were emptied last night in record time. And you eat it hot, which we prefer rather than a cold borscht type of thing. I don't think Paul would go for cold soup. I think next time I'd chop up a big bunch of my new favorite vegetable, KALE, and add it to the soup maybe a half hour before it's done.

So there you have it. Lots of nutrition in those beets, too. A real treat.

Cheers,

Bex-the-soup-maker

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