Best French Cold Beet Soup Recipes

BEET GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Place beets in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer until fork tender all the way through, about 60-90 minutes. Rinse with cold water.
• Once beets are cold, slip off their skins using your hands. Slice and place 3 of the 4 beets (saving one) in a blender with 2 cups cold water, or cold veggie stock). Add half of the chopped onion (about ⅛ cup) , 2 garlic cloves, 2 sliced Turkish cucumbers (saving one) salt, pepper, vinegar and about ⅔ of the fresh dill ( saving some for garnish). Blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• Prep the garnishes. Finely dice the remaining beet, cucumber, avocado and chop the remaining dill. Pour chilled beet soup (the colder it is, the better) into bowls. Top with the garnishes. Drizzle with a little olive oil or a swirl of yogurt or sour cream if you like. Serve immediately!

LITHUANIAN SALTIBARSCIAI (COLD BEET SOUP)

Steps:

• Place the eggs into a saucepan in a single layer and cover the eggs with water by 1 inch. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes; drain. Cool the eggs under cold running water in the sink. Peel and chop the eggs.
• Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl; add the eggs, beets, cucumber, chives, and dill. Stir gently to combine. Chill in refrigerator for 1 full day before serving.

VICHYSSOISE

Steps:

• Gently sweat the chopped leeks and the chopped onion in butter or margarine until soft, about 8 minutes. Do NOT let them brown.
• Add potatoes and stock to the saucepan. Salt and pepper to taste; do not overdo them! Bring to the boil, and simmer very gently for 30 minutes.
• Puree in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Cool. Gently stir in the cream before serving.

BEET SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot on medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until onions are soft and translucent.
• Add beets and potatoes, stir to coat with the onion mixture.
• Add broth, just enough to cover the beets and stir until well combined. (Only add enough broth to cover the vegetables, you may need more or less depending on the size of your beets, as you don't want a runny soup and you can always add more at the end if needed.)
• Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the beets are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.
• Once cooked, using an immersion blender or in batches using a bar blender, purée until smooth.
• Once blended, season generously with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of dill.
• Any leftover soup can be cooled completely and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

FRENCH COLD BEET SOUP

Steps:

• Peel the beets and the onions. Cut them into chunks, and toss them together in a large soup pot. Pour in about 2 quarts of water, or enough to cover the vegetables by an inch or so. Add the garlic, sugar, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, skimming the surface of any impurities that rise. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour, or until the beets are cooked.
• When the soup has cooled off, ladle the vegetables and some of their broth into a blender, and purée to the consistency of a thick soup. Stir in the vinegar. Adjust the thickness and seasoning of the soup to your taste, adding more beet broth if you want a thinner soup. Serve cold in soup bowls with a dollop of the sour cream, crème fraîche, or yogurt and a sprinkle of the dill, chervil, or mint.

COLD BEET SOUP FOR SUMMER

Steps:

• Drain beets, reserving liquid.If using whole or sliced beets, slice into matchstick pieces.Peel and dice cucumber. (I like fairly large dice.).
• Hold back about 3/4 cup of julianned beets in a seperate bowl.Add remaining beets and chopped cucumber to a large bowl. Add reserved beet juice,14 oz. of water and 2 tablespoons vinegar.
• Stir about 1/2 cup of sour cream into the beets you held in the seperate bowl.(this process keeps the sour cream from "breaking up" in the soup and making lumps.)Stir until the sour cream/beet mixture is smooth. Add another 1/2 cup of sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the beet juice from the large bowl and stir until smooth.Stir in the last 1/2 cup of sour cream. Mixture should be without lumps (sour cream should be liqified.)This seems complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it goes quite quickly.
• Add the beet/sourcream mix to the large bowl and stir to combine. At this point, taste to see if the level of vinegar is to your liking, if not add a little more.
• Add the dried dill. The 2 tsp is a good place to start, but I usually add more.
• Cover and chill at least 2 hours.Serve in chilled bowls. My mom adds chopped hard boiled eggs to this soup, so if you want to give that a try it's up to you,.

ROASTED BEET SOUP WITH CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap beets in foil and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour. Cool. Peel beets. Cut 1/4 of 1 beet into 1/4-inch cubes; reserve for garnish. Cut remaining beets into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Melt butter with oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek, onion, and celery and cook until beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Stir in ginger, allspice, white pepper, and 1/2-inch beet pieces. Cook until vegetables begin to stick to bottom of pot, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Add 2 cups water, bay leaf, thyme sprig, and parsley sprig. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, thyme sprig, and parsley sprig. Cool soup slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender with cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and refrigerate.)
• Gently rewarm soup (do not boil). Divide between 2 bowls. Garnish each with 1 tablespoon crème fraîche. Sprinkle with reserved beet cubes.

CHILLED GOLDEN BEET AND BUTTERMILK SOUP

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine chopped shallots and vinegar and let macerate for 20 minutes. Whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with a few grinds of black pepper. Set aside.
• Put beets in a large pot over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover. Boil for 25 to 40 minutes, depending on size, until tender when poked with the tip of a knife. Drain beets and let cool, then peel off the skins with your fingers.
• Cut 1 beet into a small, even dice, then add to the shallot mixture, season with a pinch of salt (or to taste) and set aside. Cut the remaining beets into large chunks and purée in a blender with buttermilk and lemon juice until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until completely cool.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Serve with marinated beets, herbs and sour cream on the side, so people can garnish their own bowls as they like.