In the holiday spirit, we teamed up with our friend Kayleigh Kosmas of Oh Honey to create a Halloween-inspired bowl of goodness to repel those pesky vampires or at least use up all of your beets. Kayleigh used our Imperfect beets, garlic, onions, and olive oil to create this delightful and nourishing soup that’s so good it’s scary.
Ingredients
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5 c of Imperfect beets, peeled and chopped into 1″ pieces
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1 Imperfect garlic bulb
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1/2 c of Imperfect yellow onion, chopped
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4 Tbsp of Imperfect olive oil, divided
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1/2 tsp paprika
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1 bay leaf
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Salt and pepper
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5 c vegetable or chicken stock
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2 c cream or whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F.
- Toss Imperfect beets with 2 Tbsp Imperfect olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast 20-25 minutes until tender. At the same time, slice the top off of the Imperfect garlic bulb, rub the exposed cloves with a little olive oil and wrap tightly in parchment paper or foil. Roast the garlic along with the beets until cloves are tender (the garlic may need 30-35 minutes).
- In a heavy bottomed stock pot, heat the remaining olive oil and cook onions until translucent and tender, 6-7 minutes. Add the roasted beets and garlic cloves, skin removed, to the pot. Stir in the paprika and bay leaf and add the broth. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Discard the bay leaf and transfer soup to a high-speed blender. Process until very smooth. Return to the pot, stir in cream and adjust seasonings to taste. Top with toasted pepitas and microgreens, or a little sour cream. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
Root veggie soups like this are a great way experiment with your favorite soup garnishes. We love homemade croutons (use up old bread!), yogurt, and fresh herbs like thyme or oregano. If you’re roasting garlic for this recipe, roast a few extra heads to have around for other dishes. Roasted garlic is fantastic in pasta, salad dressing, or as part of a healthy veggie dip!
4 Comments
Julie Ganis
October 29, 2017 at 10:11 pmYou guys rock. But including the word "imperfect" so many times in the receipe is actually kind of annoying. Maybe you could cut us, your customer/reader, some slack? We’re here on your site, we’ve clicked on the recipe — and yeah, I did get Imperfect beets in my box this week — so I’m fully onboard. You don’t need to keep hitting me over the head at this point with your branding. Thanks. Also, this soup sounds delicious, so thanks for that too.
John Zamora
October 30, 2017 at 8:27 pmThank you so much for this valuable feedback, Julie! We totally hear you and agree and we will incorporate your feedback into future recipe posts. Thanks for being part of the Imperfect family and happy cooking with your beets this week!
-Emily at Imperfect
April Goodman-Orcutt
October 30, 2017 at 12:48 amI agree with Julie’s comment, we are all fans! In addition, if you could provide a couple of substitution quantities, that would help those of us that are recipe impaired. For example, how much non-fat greek yogurt should I substitute for the whole milk/cream portion? I have read some different things online, but the information is not always consistent and it would make me more inclined to use your recipe if I did not have to do further research. Thanks so much!
John Zamora
October 30, 2017 at 8:28 pmThat’s great feedback, April! Thank you so much for taking the time to read the recipe and share your thoughts. We’ll definitely incorporate substitution quantities into upcoming recipes. Thanks for being part of the Imperfect family!