Beet Kubbeh Soup

Recipe by Vered Guttman. Story inspired by Family Recipe: Jewish American Style

The heritage of this soup can be traced to the Middle East and Poland, where the foodways of Iraquis and Jews often crossed paths. Beets provide the richly flavored stock for kubbeh, dumplings made of beef and farina, in a recipe perfected over centuries.

My own grandmother, Elizabeth (Betty) Grazyck, a Catholic, brought from Poland her family’s recipe for a simple beet soup which I loved as much as this, somewhat zestier one, thanks to the addition of tomato paste and lemon juice.

INGREDIENTS

For the soup

3-4 medium sized beets, greens included if possible

5-8 leaves Swiss chard (if beet greens are not available)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoon tomato paste

4-5 garlic cloves, sliced

8 cups chicken stock or vegan chicken-flavored stock

⅓ cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon dried mint

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

Olive oil to drizzle

PREPARATION

Separate green parts of beet leaves or Swiss chard from their stalks. Finely slice stalk, set aside. Roughly chop greens and set aside. Peel and halve beets, then thinly slice.

In a large wide pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and leaf stalks and sauté for 5 minutes. Add sliced beets, tomato paste and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add greens to pot together with stock, lemon juice, mint, sugar, salt. Bring to boil, then lower heat, cover pot and continue to cook until beets are very tender. Serve alone or with sour cream, as is or smoothed with an emersion blender. I skipped the dumplings—but here’s how to the kubbeh, as described in a post on Vered’s Israeli Cooking.