FarmShare Kitchen: Summer Beet & Cucumber Soup

This is, without a doubt, the most delicious way we've discovered to enjoy our beets. It's simple to prepare (only one item, the beets, actually has to be cooked), perfect summer eating, healthy, and oh so beautiful.

Perfect on its own, this soup was made a bit more luscious with the addition of delectable dairy products from our good friends at, Snowville Creamery cream and a dollop of fresh chevre from Lucky Penny Creamery.

This week's FarmShare delivery includes gorgeous beets grown right here in Cleveland at Central Roots Farm in Ohio City. So, it's the perfect time to make this soup.

Summer Soup of Beets and Cucumbers

1 lb cooked beets, peeled

2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded if you prefer

2 bunches spring onions (white and green part)

4 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped

3 oranges

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 cups or more chicken or vegetable stock, chilled

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup Snowville Creamery cream, optional

Lucky Penny Creamery fresh chevre (goat cheese) for garnish, optional

additional parsley, minced for garnish, optional

Gently boil the beets, covered, about 20-30 minutes. When done, grate them on the coarse side of a grater. 

Remove the seeds from the cucumbers and finely chop. 

Slice the spring onions and chop the parsley. 

Zest and juice 3 oranges. 

Combine beets, cucumbers, onions, parsley, orange zest and juice and 2 cups cold chicken stock in a large mixing bowl. Puree mixture in a blender in batches, until smooth. Add more chicken stock, orange juice, salt, pepper, and cream (if you wish) to correct the consistency. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving. Adjust seasoning if necessary. 

To serve, ladle into chilled soup bowls. Garnish with fresh chevre and a sprinkling of minced parsley.

For last week's family picnic at Lake Erie, I packed the soup into small half-pint canning jars with lids. Not only was this a beautiful presentation, but the jars eliminated any worry about spills on the way to the picnic.