Ok, I get it. This recipe sounds like the randomest thing you've ever heard. And besides, beets and pears don't sound that appetizing when mentioned in the same sentence. "Beets" might not sound appetizing regardless of what sentence it's in. But before you ignore this recipe, remember the sesame carrots I told you about. I was right then, right? You must give snacksanddesserts the benefit of the doubt!
Background: I recently purchased a groupon for the website The Fresh 20. The Fresh 20 is a meal planning service that provides healthy and homemade dinners using fresh, seasonal ingredients. For $5.00 a month you get five weekly meals planned for you along with a grocery list. I'm only on week one, so the jury is still out as to whether or not it's something I'll be happy with, but this working (slash blogging) girl could use some help every now and then so I figured I'd try it.
When I first saw the recipe for beet and pear soup I thought it was a bit random, but being the fan of beets that I am, I was interested. The hubs, on the other hand, was far from interested. Unless you count his interest in throwing the recipe away. But because I paid for the meal plan I figured we should give it a fair shot. Plus, selfishly, like I said, I like beets and wanted to try it. (As an aside, I remember when I was little wondering why my sweet mother would cook meals that she knew my father wasn't going to be thrilled about eating. Ha. Bless my heart, I had no idea.)
This soup was surprisingly good and didn't taste too much like beets. It even passed hubs' taste test. We ate it hot for dinner (along with some whole wheat cheese toast), and I had it cold the next day for lunch. Each meal was equally enjoyable so if it's especially hot where you are, go for the cold.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3" pieces
1/2 medium onion cut into quarters
2 celery stalks, cut into 3 " pieces
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 beet root bulbs, peeled and cut into eighths
2 pears, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
24 oz vegetable broth
Salt to taste
Directions
Heat grapeseed oil in a medium stock pot. Add carrots, onions, and celery and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix in beets and garlic. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes then add pears and vegetable broth. Let simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes.
Note: after cooking, and before the next step, remove eight pieces of the beets (the equivalent of one beet) and save in an airtight container for another meal of your choice.
Transfer everything to a food processor or blender
Puree on high for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add salt to taste. Serve hot or cold.
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