Recipe: Curried Coconut Beet Soup

After a long, slow sweat, beets release their earthy flavor for a warm and satisfying autumn soup.

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by Hali Bey Ramdene
PHOTO: Hali Bey Ramdene

 

There are plenty of ways to make a soup that’s satisfying and fast. This isn’t one of those ways.

In this soup, the beets are bathed in butter and sweated over low heat until they’re tender. Sweating vegetables is a long and slow process—not to mention the fact that you do have to stir whatever you’re cooking every few minutes to prevent browning. But it’s done for a reason, and it’s not without its merit.

Unlike, searing or sautéing, the goal behind sweating vegetables is to release the flavor and moisture without browning the sugar in the food. The benefit is added moisture and very little color change when the vegetables are puréed, blended or mashed—hence the reason why this golden-hued beet soup retains such a rich golden color. Though, that isn’t just the doing of the beets alone. The turmeric and heaping spoonful of curry added for flavor bump up the color and echo the earthiness we’ve coaxed out of the beets.

Right before you tuck in, give the soup a generous twist of lime.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

    3 T. butter
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  • 1½ pounds golden beets, peeled and chopped into small cubes
  • 1 T. Jamaican curry or madras curry
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1 large clove roasted garlic, smashed
  • 1 can unsweetened coconut milk, mixed completely
  • cilantro
  • lime wedges

Preparation

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add beets and stir until fully coated. Reduce the heat to low and let the beets cook, covered, for 40 minutes, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes to prevent any browning. Once the beets are tender, sprinkle over the curry, salt and black pepper. Cook 10 minutes more, stirring constantly.

Stir in the garlic and coconut milk. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth. Cook over medium heat until hot.

Serve the soup with snipped cilantro and lime wedges.

 

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