Chilled Beet And Sauerkraut Soup With Horseradish And Crème Fraîche Recipes

CHILLED BEET-AND-SAUERKRAUT SOUP WITH HORSERADISH AND CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375. Wash the beets, and trim only their stem ends, leaving a little of the stems attached. Crowd beets in a single layer in a roasting pan, season lightly with salt and pour in about an inch of water (less if the beets are small, more if they're large). Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and roast until a skewer slides easily through the beets, about an hour.
• When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel. Trim away any fibrous root ends, and cut into ½-inch cubes. Clean the fennel, keeping tough outers for another purpose. Dice the fennel and onion into pieces slightly smaller than the beet cubes. Slice the garlic. Slice the cabbage to about the size of the sauerkraut.
• Set a large pot over medium heat, pour in enough oil to cover its bottom and cook the fennel and onion with a small pinch of salt until they soften. Add the sliced cabbage and garlic, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the beets, sauerkraut and ½ cup of the sauerkraut liquid, then enough water to barely cover. Add a small splash of vinegar and the mushroom butts (if you're using them). Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Chill the soup.
• Taste the soup, and add remaining sauerkraut juice to season instead of salt. Serve with a spoonful of crème fraîche, a little grated horseradish and a few grinds of black pepper.

BEET SOUP WITH HORSERADISH CREAM

Steps:

• In medium bowl, stir together sour cream and horseradish. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• In 6-quart stock pot over moderate heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onions, celery, and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add beets and stir until lightly coated with oil. Add 8 cups water, cover, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until beets are tender and easily pierced with fork but not falling apart, about 1 hour.
• Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, sugar, coriander, salt, and pepper. Serve hot, topped with horseradish cream, or serve chilled.
• Variation:
• : If you plan on serving this soup at two seders and want some variety on the second night, try this twist that combines Eastern European knaidlach (matzoh balls) and Middle Eastern kibbeh (meatballs): Prepare matzoh ball dough (you can use a packaged mix) and chill at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together ground beef or lamb, chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped fresh mint, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Form the meat into mini-meatballs. Wrap matzoh ball dough around each meatball to form "knaidlach kibbeh." Boil the balls according to the package directions (the meat will cook inside them). Place two balls in each bowl of hot soup.

SALT-CRUSTED BEETS WITH HORSERADISH CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Whisk crème fraîche, horseradish, chopped chives, and Sherry wine vinegar in small bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix coarse salt, horseradish, thyme, and orange peel in medium bowl. Place three 3-tablespoon mounds of salt mixture on small rimmed baking sheet, spacing apart. Top each salt mound with 1 beet, then cover all beets with remaining salt mixture, pressing very firmly with hands and forming crust around each beet, covering completely.
• Roast beets 1 3/4 hours. Remove from oven; crack salt crusts open and remove beets. Peel beets; cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange beet slices on platter. Serve with horseradish crème fraîche.