Beet & Rice Soup Recipe

One of my favourite games to play is finding creative ways to use up random ingredients, especially when I’m running low on groceries. Today’s challenge started with 3 beets and no idea what to make for dinner. The cold drizzly weather had me in the mood for soup, and when I googled beet soup I found a Classic Borscht recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen. I didn’t have any potatoes or carrots, so I swapped them out for yellow basmati rice and canned diced tomatoes. Her recipe calls for a can of cannelini beans, but I didn’t have any, so I cooked dry Great Northern white beans in the Instant Pot. No fresh dill, but I had dried dill, and I know you can swap a tablespoon of fresh herbs for a teaspoon of dried herbs. Voila! A new favourite soup recipe was born…

Ingredients:

olive oil
3 medium beets, peeled and grated
2 celery ribs, trimmed and diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
10 cups vegetable broth
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
900 ml diced canned tomatoes with liquid
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 3 teaspoons dried dill)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional for spice)
400 ml can Great Northern white beans, not drained* (or cannellini)
full fat sour cream (or 400 ml can of full fat coconut milk)

Instructions

1. *If you are cooking beans from dry, start them first. For the equivalent of one can of beans I put a 1 cup unsoaked beans in the Instant Pot on the high pressure cooking setting for 35 minutes with 3 cups vegetable broth.
2. Prep vegetables and set aside.
3. Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium/high heat. Saute onions, celery, grated beets, and garlic.
4. Add vegetable broth and canned tomatoes with liquid.
5. Add rinsed rice, vinegar, salt, pepper, dill, and red pepper flakes. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes until rice is cooked through.
6. If using canned beans, add them now. If not, remove soup from heat and cover. Add beans and their broth when they are done cooking. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, or for a dairy free option, add a can of blended full fat coconut milk to the soup before serving.