Getting to the "roots" of things. Why we cook and Beet soup. This is for Ben

Now there's a loaded title up there, ain't it? Philosophy , and beets, and a friend. Well, I will try to tie it all together and give you a recipe for something I bet you probably thought you wouldn't like. I bet you will.


"Getting to the root" is easy: beets are roots, and at the root of any cooking is: why do we do it? There is more than one answer to that question, in fact THE correct answer may be "all of the above," whatever "the above" is. I cook for a number of reasons. Many reasons. Too many to list; however, there are times when certain reasons are more important than others. Sometimes, you just want to get to know someone better, or to deepen a relationship. So it is with Ben. And when you get right down to it, there is nothing more fundamental, nothing that we share more, than the need and desire, to eat. And if we find people who have the need and desire to eat WELL, so much the better.

that's you Ben. Yup, it is. I've written about you before, but this one is about YOU. Ben and I tak about cooking all the time. We're gonna spend some time having dinner this week, and even though it's a weekday meal, I want it to be special. So I started throwing around ideas, and the meal is set. One of the things I was thinking about, interestingly enough, was beets. Ben, unlike our president, LOVES beets. I love beets. Guy loves beets. In fact, it's an interesting thing: with few exceptions, all of my friends love beets. BUT... we're not gonna eat them when we have dinner. Nope, sorry Ben, got something else in mind, something you're gonna enjoy, and I'll write about it when we get there, but the beets, well, you're gonna have them in soup.

Many people think "YUCH" when they think of beet soup. As I've written about the negative reaction to beets before, I can't blame them. Beets have gotten a bad wrap, from the disgusting canned and jarred stuff we've gotten. So, too, beet soup. I have seen it in restaurants, and it has turned my stomach. It always looks, well, putrid, and it has smelled worse. I have never seen a beet soup that I thought I would eat.

However.... I follow the menus at Chez Panisse regularly. For a while, maybe every night for a week, the soup on the menu was beet soup, with various accompaniments: horseradish, creme fraiche, other things. Well, Chez Panisse doesn't do too many things badly. So if they are serving beet soup, it has to be salvageable. And I did my research, and it is. And it's good.

No question about it, this is not quick food. You have to roast the beets, then you have to clean them, then you have to make the soup. Try it, please. It's worth it. It really is.

You start with three pounds of beets. Try to get smaller ones. Don't come home with one three pound beet, which is eminently possible. I would go for beets that are no more than about a third of a pound. Then, gather them in some foil, wrap them tightly, and bake them at 350, for about and hour and a half (you can do this while you're baking something else. They don't take up much room).

When the beets are soft enough to pierce with a knife, let them cool, and then rub off as much of the skin as you can. While they are cooling, chop up really fine, two carrots, three stalks of celery, two onions, and a half bulb of fennel. I did this in the food processor, one vegetable at a time. Then, after you've cleaned the beets, cut them in quarters.

Get a big pot and cover it with vegetable oil. Add the onions first, and cook for two minutes. Then the carrots and the celery, for another two minutes. Then the fennel, again for two. Now, push them to the side, and add all of the beets. Let them begin to stick to the pan. You want some carmelization. When they are sticking, add a healthy teaspoon of salt, a quart of chicken stock, and two cups of water. Bring this all to a boil, and cover the pot (root veggies: cover the pot). Let it cook for at least an hour . You want the beets to be so soft that they will break apart when you press them with a big spoon. Now, let this cool.

Seems like a lot of work for a pot of soup, huh? Really? How much work have you really done? Not much. And wait. When the stuff is cool, puree it in batches in a mixer. It won't puree all the way to smoothness, so puree it a second time. Now, it will be smooth, and wait until you see the stunning color. Taste it. You will probably want to add some salt, and maybe some vinegar. I in fact added some pickle brine and it was the right thing to do. Finally, a little dairy is a nice thing. Creme fraiche is perfect in my opinion. About a quarter of a cup. Stir it in, and you're done.

You have about six cups of a lovely mauve/purple soup, of a color that you will not find in any other soup. And the taste? You know, if I didn't know it was beets, I wouldn't know it was beets. But I do, and it is. And it sure is good.

Ben, you almost didn't get the soup, but you will. On Monday. Before we have our real dinner. And I hope you enjoy eating it as much as I enjoyed making it. Love ya, guy.