Ingredients
1 T. olive oil
1/2 leek, diced
1/2 onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
8 small to medium roasted beets (or raw), peeled and diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1/3 red cabbage, outer layer removed, shredded (with a mandolin or sliced thinly)
1 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
3-4 sprigs thyme
5-6 cups of water or broth (just enough to cover the ingredients, plus an inch or two depending on how much liquid you like in your soup)
Heat the olive oil in a large pot and sautée leek and onion (you can also use just onion but I like to combine the two for a more complex flavor). Then add the minced garlic, celery, parsnip and cook a little longer until the celery and parsnip are tender. Blend the cooked onion, celery, parsnip mixture plus a few pieces of the beet in a blender - it will be a nice pink color (I roasted the beets and baked the sweet potato ahead of time). Return the blended mixture to the pot and add the rest of the beets, the sweet potato and the shredded cabbage to the pot, the water (or vegetable broth) along with the thyme. If you're using raw beets and sweet potato, cook until tender. Simmer the soup on low flame until everything is cooked and flavors are blended, about 15 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fennel fronds or parsley and serve with cashew sour cream, vegan horseradish cream (recipe in blog) or regular sour cream. Enjoy!