Chilled Golden Beet and Buttermilk Soup
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes, plus 1 hour's chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon finely chopped shallots
- 1tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
- Ground black pepper
- 2½pounds golden beets (about 8 to 10 medium-size beets)
- 1teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 2cups buttermilk
- ½lemon, juiced (about 1 tablespoon)
- Small handful of basil leaves, for serving
- Small handful of dill fronds, for serving
- ⅓ to ½cup sour cream, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
161 calories; 9 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 541 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
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.
- Step 2
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.
- Step 3
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.
- Step 4
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.
Private Notes
Comments
The importance of using real buttermilk known as full-fat buttermilk (little globules of butter in the skimmed liquid from heavy cream) is essential to make this soup. I'm sure French relies on a local dairy for the milk. There's lots of the artisanal brew in Maine.
Whole-milk kefir works well as a substitute for full-fat buttermilk. Another stellar option is to look for Dahlicious-brand organic plain full-fat lassi (available in some Whole Foods and large organic grocery stores). It's labeled as 'lassi', but unlike the Indian namesake, their plain version has NO added sugar or salt-- it's just whole milk from grass-fed cows along with cultures. Tastes just like creamy full-fat buttermilk, and works great in my baking recipes!
I have been doing this for a year, but with kefir. And it is fabulous! And I have added beef bone broth.
I bake the beets the way Jim Beard taught me. In foil in a 425F oven for an hour. Jackets slip right off.
However Tejal's is a great recipe,
too;-)
I was looking for a cold soup recipe because of the heatwave. This one fit what I had on hand. I used home-canned golden beets because that's what I had, but otherwise followed the recipe (sans cooking the beets). Delicious!
I used red onion instead of shallot and it tasted great and added nice color contrast to the orange-y colored soup.
Next time would bake/roast instead of boiling to concentrate flavor and color