Gingery Golden Beet Detox Soup
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Tonight after yoga, we stopped by the brand-new Gateway Market at MLK, just south of 235 (is that Woodland Ave?). It's already a marvelous bright spot in the center of Des Moines, and once there's more fresh local produce, it'll be truly phenomenal. They had some lovely golden beets for $2/pound, so I was inspired to make this version of my Autumn EquiDetox Soup when I got home with my booty. I used homemade veggie broth and was surprised to discover that the finished version needed no salt. If you don't like beets, give golden beets a try. They're surprisingly mild and sweet.
1 tsp olive oil
1 golden beet, sliced thinly
1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 apple, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup uncooked pearled barley or 1 cup cooked kamut
2 cups veggie broth
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 knuckle-sized piece fresh ginger, grated
fresh pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a medium-large soup pot. Add the beet slices and saute for 5-10 minutes, or until the beets are starting to yield to a fork. Add the quinoa and stir for another 2 minutes, or until the quinoa is popping in earnest. Add the garam masala, garlic and apple and stir for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes, barley or kamut, and veggie broth. Grate the ginger into the soup. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes, covered, or until the quinoa is translucent and the beets and barley are tender. Season with pepper to taste.
Homemade Veggie Broth
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2 carrots, diced
1/2 an onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped or smashed
2-3 sundried tomatoes
1 apple, chopped
2 bay leaves
10-15 peppercorns
1/4 tsp sea salt
8-10 cups water
Put in a covered crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
