- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup minced yellow onion
- 3 or 4 medium beets, trimmed, peeled, and diced (about 4 cups)
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Sour cream for serving (optional)
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the beets and carrots and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the broth, water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer until the beets are very tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Using an immersion blender, blend until puréed. (The mixture can also be puréed, in batches, in a food processor.)
Serve warm, garnishing each bowl with a spoonful of sour cream, if you wish. (Makes 4-6 servings.)
Character Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare), Mississippi’s 3,000-year-old vampire king, says this recipe makes him think of his deceased lover Talbot. “I ache for Talbot whenever I think of his warm bisque garnished with a flourish of English rose petals,” he writes.