Beet Curry Soup

I was a little more than disappointed with my last beet soup - a classic and spartan borscht. And, yet, I was so excited to make that borscht, as I've never eaten borscht before (not in my family's recipe repertoire, and rarely found on menu's unless you're at a Polish or other Eastern European restaurant).

I followed a recipe from Olive Trees and Honey, a Jame's Beard award-winning cookbook of authentic Jewish vegetarian recipes, but its borscht recipe with meager onion, vinegar and sugar stock, cubed beets, and sour cream garnish just did not impress. I chalk this up to the fact that I like bolder flavors, and borscht is a simple soup. I still would love to try another version of vegetarian borscht, though (hint, hint, borscht recipe holders). Maybe a version with more variety of vegetables, since I went bare bones borscht the first round.

I still couldn't shake the need for beet soup, so now I present you with a beet soup my taste buds can get behind. And yours will too, if you like bold flavors. Roasted beets add an earthiness, apples add sweetness, and ginger and curry paste add that kick I so love in food.

One word of warning: the recipe I followed called for 1 to 2 tablespoons of curry paste, which I found a bit vague since there are many curry pastes out there. I went with a green curry paste, and started by adding less than 1 tablespoon, but that already was too much. So, do start with a much smaller amount of curry paste, as curry pastes are very different, and add more if needed.

Beet Curry Soup
adapted from The NY Times
serves 6-8

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large beets (2 1/2 pounds total)
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 apples, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable broth, more if needed
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoons curry paste
salt, to taste
yogurt or sour cream, (optional garnish)

• In a bowl, drizzle oil over beets, and toss to coat. Put beets on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until beets can be pierced easily. When cool enough to handle, peel beets and chop into large chunks.
• In a large pot, melt butter and saute onions until caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Add apples, broth, ginger, curry paste, salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, or until apples are soft.
• Pour soup into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Adjust seasoning and add more broth if too thick.
  
• Garnish with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.