Carrot, Ginger, and Beet Soup Recipe

You can’t do better than beets and carrots for sweet, earthy winter nourishment, and this zesty recipe combines them with ginger and a touch of orange rind to make an intriguing soup that will surprise and delight your whole family.

What a tasty way to get your beta-carotenes and minerals: this is borscht with a citrus and ginger twist, a sure-fire crowd-pleaser!

INGREDIENTS
3 medium beets (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon canola or corn oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 pound carrots, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
6 cups water or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
4 teaspoons sour cream (optional)

1. Under running water (this is very messy otherwise), peel the beets with a vegetable peeler. With a chef’s knife, cut the beets in half, then lay them flat side down and cut them into large chunks.

2. In a stock pot over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the onion until it is translucent. Add the carrots, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add beets and water or stock. Simmer the soup, covered, for 50 minutes. Add orange rind, and stir well.

3. In a food processor or blender, puree the soup in batches. Transfer the pureed soup to a large container, and stir in the salt and pepper. Taste the soup, and adjust the seasonings, if you like. Serve the soup hot or chilled, garnished with dollops of sour cream.

Serves 4.

Read more: Food, All recipes, Soups & Salads

Adapted from Vegetarian Planet, by Didi Emmons (Harvard Common Press, 1997). Copyright (c) 1997 by Didi Emmons. Reprinted by permission of Harvard Common Press.
Adapted from Vegetarian Planet, by Didi Emmons (Harvard Common Press, 1997).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Betty C.

8:33AM PST on Nov 6, 2011

Love borscht.

send a green star

KS G.

5:11AM PDT on Nov 3, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Jennifer C.

1:25AM PDT on Sep 14, 2011

Healthy recipe. Love it. Thanks.

Elias A.

7:14PM PST on Feb 13, 2011

I found this recipe produced a rather bland soup, but I like the idea so I modified my next batch:
Add the juice of a small lemon (gives it a bit of zip)
1 Bay Leaf
Small pinch of ground cloves (compliments the beats and ginger)

Past Member .

7:22AM PST on Mar 12, 2010

Thanks! tastes great!

12:48AM PST on Jan 12, 2010

Your soup has inspired me to make vegetable soup dinners, for the second night in a row.

aaa batteries

4:44AM PST on Nov 16, 2009

An immersion blender will save a giant mess......

xoxoCarel

little w.

7:56PM PDT on May 11, 2009

Yum! How healthy can u get!!! :)

Alice B.

8:52AM PDT on May 5, 2009

Please substitute a non-dairy sour cream such as Tofutti's "Better Than Sour Cream," as the dairy sour cream in this recipe takes away the cleansing the healing effects in the gut and body as a whole. I myself would choose to use these vegetable/ingredients in a homemade juice rather than in a cooked soup: that way the essential nutrients are not broken down as much. I always LOVE carrot, ginger, beet juice - sometimes with a little parsley added and/or a few spinach leaves too.