Almost Turkish Recipes

Roasted Beet Soup (Fırınlanmış Pancar Çorbası)



























I had found a recipe for a roasted beet soup at Cafe Fernando. I was mesmerized by the color of the beet soup and also by the fact that I'd never cooked with beets before. So I decided to try; however, the original recipe asked for celery stalks, which I cannot stand, and was introduced as a "sweet" one. So, to avoid celery stalks and sweetness, I modified the recipe a little bit, o.k. maybe a lot.

I updated the recipe after my 2nd trial.

3 beet roots, diced
1 cup beet stalks, chopped
5 cloves of garlic
1 carrot, cut in rounds
1 potato, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup rice
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white peppercorn
1 tsp crushed pepper/ pepper flakes (if you want it spicy)
1 tsp red chili powder
7 cups of water or vegetable stock
1/2 bunch dill

optional
juice of 1 lemon or lime
crumbled feta

-Wrap beet roots separately and garlic cloves together in aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven at 375 F for an hour. You have to let them cool down to a bearable temperature before you peel and dice the roots.
-Heat oil + butter in a large pot and start cooking onions, peppers, and beet stalks
-Add carrots and potatoes. Stir on medium heat for 4-5 minutes
-Now it's time to add beets, garlic, and white peppercorns. Stir for 2-3 minutes
-Add red chili powder, stir for half a minute and add water, salt, and crushed pepper
-When the water boils add rice. Cook for 40 minutes on low to medium heat and stir every now and then
-The soup will be ready when rice is cooked
-I used the soup master (the hand blender) to smoothen it. If you won't smoothen the soup, you should probably chop everything finely
-Garnish with dill and serve with a slice of lemon or lime. The sourness gives it a nice flavor

Things to keeps in mind if you'll try to make this soup are 1) do not wear white! 2) do not skip on dill; you won't believe how well roasted beet and dill get along 3) be adventurous and sprinkle some crumbled feta on top with dill (it's good with lemon juice, too, but I think I favor feta over lemon).

This recipe with the must-have ingredient dill is for Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging which is hosted by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein.

11 comments:

  1. Ben bir pancarsever olarak tuttum bu corbayi ! Buzdolabinda da mevcut, deneyecegimdir yarin...

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  2. Anonymous1:34 PM

    Burcu - The photo looks great. Colors are amazinng. I will try your version next time.

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  3. Beautiful!! I love beetroots!! The colour is fantastic. Thanks for the recipe. I give it a try.

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  4. Anonymous8:50 AM

    It does look so good!

    Beautiful photo too.

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  5. I think modifying recipes a lot is the sign of a good cook! Sounds great!

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  6. seems you did a wonderful job in modification! Very beautiful soup!

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  7. It's so cold here, I cannot help but cooking soups!

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  8. First visit to your blog, and I'm in love with this beet soup recipe. I've been meaning to learn more about Turkish cooking, and to add some ingredients to my pantry, so I'll be a frequent visitor.

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  9. i just wanted to let u know that i am having ur bulghur pilaf and turkish beans for dinner. turkish beans i have tasted before from my turkish collegue and fell in love with it so was so thrilled to get a recipe on ur site.
    thanks a lot.

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  10. Anonymous6:10 AM

    So interesting recipe! I'll try to cook it! You may also try some new beet recipes!

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  11. Love your blog. Have tried many recipes and all have been great. The beet soup looks wonderful.Do you think this could be served cold as well as hot? The weather is so hot now I am longing for a good cold soup Chip

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