The Most Beautiful Soup in the World

I have decided to be brave! I have realized through my travels and living abroad that food is an adventure! I have eaten so many things I never would have dreamed of trying: fish liver, head to toe soup (literally, head to toe of an animal, eyeballs included). Some of it was terrible and I will never try again, but I enjoy trying new things because I have been surprised many times by what I end up liking.

So here I tried a new thing: Beet and Apple Soup. All I know about beets is I used to always think they were jellied cranberries, only to spit them out when the tastes didn't mesh. But I decided to be brave and try something new. The result is the most beautiful soup in the world!

Here goes:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

5 cups peeled and chopped beets

1 cup chopped onion

3 cups chopped apples (I chose Michigan apples. Keep the skin on)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

5 cups apple cider

First, I peeled the beets and chopped them. Beets are difficult to chop, but eventually I got there. I suggest wearing some plastic gloves while you do this because your fingers will turn purple

 Pour the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the beets and onion and cook for about 5 minutes (until onions soften). Stir often
There will be a lot of steam as the beets have a surprising amount of moisture in them.

 Next add in the apples. Again, chopped but with the skin still on.

Allow to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Again there will be lots of steam as the moisture cooks out.
Next add the salt and pepper, 4 cups of the cider, and 4 cups of water.

Stir everything together and bring to a boil. After it has been brought to a boil, turn the heat down to simmer and cover for about 40 minutes (until the beets are soft and tender)

After you have tested that the beets are tender, turn off the heat. Pour the soup into a blender and puree it. I had to do this is 2 parts.

Stir in the last cup of apple cider.
And there you have it, the most beautiful soup in the world. Such a pretty color! This soup is supposed to be served cold. To add something special to it, add a touch of sour cream and some dried mustard to each serving. Yay for being adventurous!

**Update**
I ate this soup for lunch today and have a few reflections. It was actually pretty good. But it is very "beety". If you don't like beets at all, skip this soup. But the apples and cider take the edge of fthe beet taste. The soup is also very liquidy. In fact, my husband drank a cup of it for breakfast this morning. It is therefore not super filling. I'd give the soup 5/10 simply because I am not the biggest beet fan. However, it wasn't bad.