This vibrant cold soup is a serious stunner, and the perfect antidote to summer’s heat. Roasting your own beets will yield the brightest color soup (throw them into the oven in an aluminum foil pouch—you can roast them days before using them), but packaged precooked beets will work in a pinch. Homa Dashtaki, the author of cookbook Yogurt & Whey and founder of handcrafted yogurt company The White Moustache, prefers an immersion blender as it leaves some texture in the soup, but you can also use a standard blender. If you blend with abandon and the soup becomes too liquidy, just forgo the bowls and spoons and drink up!
Ingredients
4 servings
12
2
½
3¼
1½
4
4
Preparation
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Place 12 oz. small beets (3–4), trimmed, scrubbed, on a large sheet of foil. Fold short sides up and over beets, then bring long sides together and roll up to seal tightly. Place pouch on a rimmed baking sheet and roast beets until a paring knife slides easily through flesh, 50–60 minutes. Carefully cut open pouch and let beets sit until cool enough to handle. Using paper towels, rub skins to remove, then coarsely chop beets. Transfer beets to a large bowl. Add 2 garlic cloves, crushed, ½ tsp. ground cumin, 3¼ cups plain whole-milk yogurt, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt. Using an immersion blender, blend until mixture is smooth and thick. (Alternatively, you can use a standard blender; just be careful not to overblend.) Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Step 2
Divide soup among bowls. Swirl 2 Tbsp. plain whole-milk yogurt and 1 tsp. pomegranate molasses into each. Top with 4 sprigs mint, leaves picked, coarsely chopped or torn.
Do ahead: Soup (without toppings) can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Stir to reincorporate before serving.
