Minted Coconut Beet Soup

I've been promising this recipe to my friend Ingrid for about a month, now. She graciously gave me some delicious beets from her garden, so I immediately set about finding a creative combination of flavours for my soup cookbook. And, I figured I would share it with not only her, but all of you.

Minted Coconut Beet Soup

Makes about 10 cups

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. butter (raw organic is best)
2 lg. yellow onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp. ground ginger (or 4" piece fresh, peeled and minced)
3 c. homemade chicken stock
2 14-oz. cans coconut milk (or equivalent volume fresh)
6 large beets, peeled and diced into about 1-sq. cm. pieces
juice from one lime (about 2 tbsp.)
2 tsp. Celtic sea salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried mint (or 2 tbsp. fresh, snipped)
crème fraiche for serving
 

1. Heat olive oil and butter together gently in a large pot. Sauté onions on med-low heat until soft.

2. Add minced garlic. Turn up heat to medium and sauté for another minute or so. Add ginger.

3. Add chicken stock, coconut milk, beets, lime juice, salt, and cumin (and mint, if using dried) and and bring to a gentle boil. Turn heat back down to medium-low and cook until beets are tender, about twenty minutes or so.

4. Remove from heat and blend in pot with hand-held blender (or run through a blender in batches, then return to pot.) Add mint now, if using fresh. Serve immediately with a dollop of crème fraiche. (Fresh mint may also be used as garnish.)

Variation: Fresh cilantro may be used in place of mint.
Tip: Crushing garlic cloves with the flat of a large knife makes peeling them a cinch--and releases more of the flavourful juices.

Enjoy!