Chilled Beet Soup with Greek Yogurt, Cherries and Orange
Scoot over Gazpacho, it’s time to make room for another chilled soup in town. Currently in season and healthful all year long, beets give this soup a beautiful color. Shock your guests with this easy to make and refreshing soup, and be sure to garnish with radishes and mint for some extra brownie points.
Tip: If you are pressed for time, there’s no harm in buying precooked packaged purple beets (not canned), which will shave off about an hour of cooking! I buy my precooked packaged beets at Costco and Trader Joe’s.
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
9 medium purple beets, raw or precooked
1 cup of sliced English cucumbers
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1 naval orange, peeled
1 cup pitted cherries
Wild cat mint and sliced Watermelon Radishes for garnish
Directions
If you are using raw beets: Heat the oven to 400°F. Put 4 beets on one large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and the other 5 beets on another sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and add salt and pepper. Fold up the sides of each of the foils and close the tops to form a packet. Put the foil packets onto a baking sheet and into the oven. Bake for 1 hour, or until tender (check the tenderness by piercing one with the tip of a sharp knife; continue baking if the knife does not easily pierce the beets). Set aside to cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Peel the skins off using a paring knife, preferably wearing gloves, and cut into chunks. (If you are using precooked beets, place them in the blender, Vitamix or Nutribullet whole).
Add the beets to the blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour. Adjust the seasoning as necessary. Divide the soup into shallow bowls and garnish with Wild cat mint and radishes.
Note: Soup can be made 2 days ahead; tightly cover and refrigerate.