Beet and sweet potato soup

This is a hearty vegan soup that has a little warm heat from the delicate Kashmiri chile.  I love beets and this seemed like a great way to use them and sweet potatoes, which I’d also like use in more dishes.  And pink soup, woo hoo!

6 servings

Ingredients:

4 small beets

2-3 small sweet potatoes

1 onion

1 tsp whole cumin

1 tsp whole coriander

1 green cardamom pod

1” piece of ginger

4 cups veggie stock

1 tsp Kashmiri chile

4 tbsp oil

Salt

Peel the beets and sweet potatoes and cut into smallish pieces. There are two ways you can prepare them to get a deeper and richer flavour. One is to roast them in the oven: Heat oven to 375F. Sprinkle veg with oil and a tiny bit of salt. Wrap in a foil package and then roast for about 45 minutes.  

The second is to saute them in oil for a bit in a frying pan so they get a bit caramelized and soft around the edges, which takes about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, take the cumin, coriander, and seeds from the cardamom pod and grind them in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder. The flavours are best when freshly ground but you can always use already ground spices.  Finely chop or grate the ginger.

Dice the onion. Add 2 tbsp of oil to a medium sized pot and sautee the onions with a pinch of salt until just starting to brown. Then add the ground spices, ginger, and chile and fry for just a minute.

Add the veggie stock and roasted vegetables. Bring to the boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for about half an hour until the vegetables are soft. 

Remove from heat and blend until quite smooth. Adjust the seasoning. Serve with a small dollop of sour cream or cashew cream.

© Gail J Cohen 2018