I had a wonderful beet soup for Valentine’s Day dinner with Jim at Five Fifty-Five in Portland, Maine, and I couldn’t wait to try to replicate it. I arrived at this recipe through experimentation and am very happy with the rich and filling result.
Servings: 6
Fresh
3 medium fennel bulbs
6 medium beets
1 large onion
1/4 cup sour cream
Pantry
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 cups beef stock
Prepare onion and fennel
Roughly chop the onions and set aside. Remove any brown sections of fennel, roughly chop, and set aside. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add the onions and fennel and cook until very tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Prepare beets
While onion and fennel are cooking, peel the raw beets and chop into cubes, approximately 2-inches long. Add beets to the stock pot.
Simmer vegetables
Add the beef stock, salt, and pepper to the stock pot. Cover, increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
Puree soup
Transfer soup to a blender to puree in batches. Return pureed soup to the stock pot and reheat.
Serve
Serve soup with a dollop of sour cream on top. Soup freezes and reheats well over low heat.
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