Beetroot Leaf & Stalk Soup

[evergreen]

For tea tonight I made soup from the leaves of my beetroots and it was a huge hit - even the children loved it. Has anyone tried it? if not please give it a go - it's packed with goodness:- Melt a knob butter in a saucepan, rinse and chop the leaves and stalks, put them in the pan and gently cook until soft. Add your stock (I used chicken stock) and cook until the stalks are soft, which took about 5 mins. then liquidise. A little salt and pepper 'to taste' and scrummy - how simple is that? !!!!!

[POTHEAD]

did it actually taste of beetroot or green veg type,regards pothead

[Rosemary]

That soup recipe is very interesting and seems quick to produce. I have never eaten beetroot leaves what do they taste like? They must be nice or the kids wouldn't eat them.

[evergreen]

I didn't tell anybody what was in the soup until they had eaten it. The popular guess was spinach but I could detect a hint of beetroot. Try it and decide for yourselves.
Last night I did make spinach soup which was also delicious followed by lovely spag. bol. as we had company for dinner. For this I chopped a red onion and a garlic clove and fried them gently in oil. Then I added loads of chopped spinach leaves and vegetable stock and cooked for a few minutes. Liquidised, added a little sea salt and black pepper and once again it was a very quick, simple and nutritious dish. I suppose you could always add a dollop of cream to these soups but they are quite thick and creamy anyway depending on the quantity of stock you use.

[Rosemary]

I haven't got any beetroot leaves yet but I must try making your spinach soup it seems so simple and quick. Have you got any more of these quick soup recipes?? They're great!!!

[evergreen]

Loads!!!! Being a divorced mum for years on very little money I made soups from whatever was available. Now, having re-married with more children and still very little money, I still do.
Going back to my beetroot leaf and stalk soup - it's the stalks that taste of beetroot - the leaves are like spinach. I discovered this yesterday by cooking just the leaves to add to our roast dinner.

[tjf]

I have just cleared all my beet root leaves and some over grown spinach (both a little eaten by catepillers) and boiled and liquidised them. Do you know of other receipies that I can use these in. Have already used in spagetti sauce, but wanted to know if anybody had used them in bases for other dishes or sauces.

[Pam]

Soup sounds great but can I cut off the leaves before I have pulled the beets? Will they keep growing?

[Cabbagelover]

Beetroot can be grown as a cut and come again plant like salad leaves but I don't know if this affects the quality of the roots.

[Neely]

Thanks for the recipe!
I am trying it now. I thought it tasted good after just the saute - and very pretty too, red and green, but I'm going ahead and finishing it as a soup as you suggest. I'm liquifying in the blender. A tip someone gave me, if the soup is hot or even not, leave the center cover open and cover with an old tea towel as you blend, and then it doesn't splatter at all. With this I put a paper towel first and then lightly scrunched the tea towel over. Much better than half covering with the center plug as I think the manufacturers suggest.

I added to this on edit, but it didn't post. Shall try again. In short, this soup was a huge success - thanks Everygreen, you are right, it is delicious and, somehow, very interesting, like nothing else I've tried. For one thing, the soup is very thick after liquifying and keeps its body even when you thin it down. It has an interesting chocolatey reddish color and a lovely taste. I used vegetable broth, just in case my daughter's vegetarian friends dropped by, and it seems a pity to make something that vegetarians would eat except for the broth. I added a dollop of sour cream in the plates, which really seems to complement the soup. Thank you!