Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Cut scrubbed beets into 3/4-inch cubes and roast covered with half the oil at 425°F for 40–50 minutes until tender; dice potato small.
- While the beets roast, start the soup base in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot. Keep the roasting juices and oil to add with the beets.
- Heat the remaining half of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 6–8 minutes, stirring, until softened but not deeply browned.
- Add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
- Add the diced potatoes, the roasted beets with their reserved juices, 1200 ml water and the 6 g salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer with the lid partly covering the pot. Cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking tenderness. Keep enough liquid around the solids; add a little hot water if the pot becomes dry.
- For blending, remove the pot from the heat. Keep an immersion-blender head fully submerged to reduce splashing. If using a countertop blender, follow its hot-liquid instructions, work in small batches and vent as directed; never seal steaming soup in a closed personal blender.
- Blend the tender beets and potatoes until smooth, then add lemon and chopped dill.
- Check the finished texture: The soup is deep ruby red and smooth; a knife meets no resistance in a beet cube before blending. Taste a spoonful after it cools slightly; extra salt, oil or toppings are optional and change the nutrition estimate. Stir the whole pot before dividing into six equal portions.
Notes
Use vacuum-packed plain cooked beets as a shortcut, adjusting the prepared weight and checking for added vinegar. Estimated per one-sixth of the completed batch, using edible input weights and USDA SR Legacy records. Soup liquid is retained; evaporation changes portion weight rather than batch nutrient totals. No laboratory measurement or vitamin-retention calculation is claimed. Optional additions are excluded.