Orange and Beet Soup

By: Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen

Healthy soup recipes are a great way to add nutrients to your diet, and this recipe for Orange and Beet Soup from Lisa of the food blog Lisa's Kitchen is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. The color and taste of this vegetarian recipe will surely astound you.

Notes

This recipe adapted from the cookbook Small Bites.

If you are not using vegetable stock, increase the amount of salt and add a teaspoon or two of celery seed.

As an alternative to adding a dollop of yogurt at the end, the original recipe suggests combining the cup of yogurt with half of the chives and freezing the mixture in an ice-cube tray. Instead of adding a dollop of yogurt to each bowl, simply drop in a frozen iced yogurt cube.

About Lisa: Based in London, Ontario, a veteran vegetarian for 21 years serves up a collection of delicious culinary creations from her kitchen, with an emphasis on spicy Indian dishes. If you want to know what sensible vegetarians eat, Lisa's Kitchen is the place to be.

Yields6 to 8 large bowls

Ingredients

1 pound small beets, trimmed and scrubbed
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon resh thyme, chopped (or a few teaspoons of dried thyme)
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
The juice from 1 small orange
4 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons yogurt, plus an additional 1 cup
1 small handful of beet greens, finely chopped
1 small bunch of chives, chopped

Instructions

Put the washed beets in a pot of water and boil for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the beets are soft and can be easily pierced with a fork. Cool, remove the skins and roughly chop the cooked beets. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, thyme, salt and black pepper. Stir and fry for about 10 minutes, then add the beets, vinegar, orange zest, juice and stock. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the chopped beet greens and transfer 3/4 of the soup to a blender or food processor and process until pureed. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir.
Stir in a few tablespoons of the yogurt and half of the chives and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Serve in small bowls, adding a dollop of yogurt to each bowl and a sprinkle of the remaining chives.