Beets, tarragon, garlic and olive oil are a beautiful culinary combination according to the Vegetarian Flavor Bible, and it’s proven to be true in this delicious and beautiful bowl of Vegan Beet Soup with Garlic and Tarragon!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience at no additional cost to you. I was given a copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible for review, and as always, all opinions are my own.
Just like you can turn the volume up or down when you’re listening to a song on the radio, you can also do so with recipes. Yes, I’m talking about quiet and loud. Want to quiet down a recipe? Use tofu. Make it louder? Bring on the wasabi. Get it?
This is just one of the ways that the renowned Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg use to match flavors in their newest book, The Vegetarian Flavor Bible.
This is not a recipe book, rather it’s a book that profiles hundreds of foods from açaí to zucchini, including vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Each ingredient is profiled with its flavor description, season, botanical relatives, possible cooking techniques, substitutions, pairings, nutritional information, and serving suggestions.
And it does all of this in a super organized fashion that easy to follow. What more could you want!?
I’ve been reading books by the James Beard Award winning Karen and Andrew since 1996 when I was given Culinary Artistry and Becoming a Chef.
I was so happy to be invited to this book signing at Melissa’s Produce to meet Karen and Andrew and listen to what was an incredibly delightful and educational presentation about their book. And it’s what led to the creation of this Vegan Beet Soup with Garlic and Tarragon.
(You can read all about their fascinating journey to vegetarianism in the introduction in the book.)
Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page and Robert Schueller of Melissa’s Produce
As always, Melissa’s did a superb job presenting their beautiful produce.
During the presentation, Karen and Andrew told us about the best butternut squash soup they’d ever had. Why was it so amazing? Two main reasons:
- Butternut squash stock was used instead of a typical vegetable stock — one that includes the use of a variety of vegetables, or a meat stock. (The butternut squash stock intensifies the squash flavor, while vegetable or meat stocks are not only stronger , but have additional, and potentially distracting, flavors.)
- The omission of cream, which while delicious, takes away from the flavor of the squash.
And this was not about trying to make a vegan soup — as Karen put it, it was “veganism in the name of gastronomy!”
So what did I do?
I thought about one of my favorite vegetables, and certainly one of the most gorgeous — beets.
So I used the butternut squash soup they talked about as a guideline, using beet stock and no cream. Then I looked under beets in The Vegetarian Flavor Bible for additional tips. One of the many “flavor affinities” they listed was beets + garlic + olive oil + tarragon. And off I went.
Enter: Vegan Beet Soup with Garlic and Tarragon. The title is almost like the line in the book.
If you love to cook (or even just eat!), vegetarian, vegan, or not, you’ll adore The Vegetarian Flavor Bible.
Enjoy every last spoonful of this beautiful soup!
Beets, tarragon and olive oil are a beautiful culinary combination according to the Vegetarian Bible, and it's proven to be true in this delicious and beautiful bowl of Garlic-Tarragon Beet Soup!
- 2 pounds fresh beets with their greens intact (about 4 large beets)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 cup yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Remove the greens from 3 of the beets, wash them thoroughly and tear them in half. Add them to a large stock pot and pour enough water over them to cover, about 3 quarts.
-
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer the stock for 45 minutes. Strain into a couple of large pitchers or bowls and set aside. (It will be a yellow/green/brown color -- not pink like the beets.)
-
Slice off the root and tip ends of the beets, peel them, and roughly chop them into into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. (The pink stain will go away within an hour or so, but if you don't want your hands to stain, wear kitchen gloves.)
-
In the same stock pot, over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the onions and garlic. Let this cook, stirring a bit, until the onions are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
-
Add the tarragon and stir. Once it's very aromatic, after about 30 seconds, add the chopped beets and cook, stirring a bit, for about 5 minutes.
-
Pour in 6 cups of the beet stock. (Save the rest for another soup!) Bring it to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the beets are very tender, about 45 minutes.
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In two batches, pour the mixture into a very powerful blender and purée until it's as smooth as possible.
-
Pour the puréed soup back into the pot and season generously to taste with salt and pepper, and gently stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)
Kelly @ TastingPage says
March 11, 2015 at 4:44 pmI LOVE the Flavor Bible and am so excited to see that there’s now a Vegetarian Flavor Bible as I seem to be eating less and less meat. Love the flavor combo you came up with using the beets. I also love black beans with fresh cilantro and chipotle. Yum!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:18 pmKelly, I think you’d love this book. Especially if you already love the Flavor Bible. Love the beans + cilantro & chipotle. Yum is right!
Diana Pierson says
March 11, 2015 at 4:50 pmWould love to win this cookbook and share it with my sister, who would also love it. Thanks for the invite.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:18 pmThank YOU, Diana for joining in the giveaway. 🙂
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
March 11, 2015 at 7:56 pmInspired, Valentina! And oh, so gorgeous!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:17 pmThank you, Dorothy!
Alison H. says
March 12, 2015 at 6:55 amI love the beet flavor combo with the tarragon, but I also think I would love the beet, fennel, dill, risotto combo!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:17 pmWow — I love that idea, Alison. Adding risotto to those flavors would be dreamy.
Sharyl Wolter says
March 12, 2015 at 10:14 ambeets, dill, fennel and risotto is very appealing!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:17 pmagreed!
Judy at Two Broads Travel says
March 12, 2015 at 10:54 amWhat a fantastic combo and that picture just makes me want to dive in. Love and use the Flavor Bible all the time. This book would be a wonderful addition to my cookbook collection.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:16 pmJudy, I’ve been loving looking through the book. So much fun.
Cris Peterson says
March 12, 2015 at 11:52 amCannot wait to make this soup. Of course, I will be using cracked black Kampot pepper! We’ve been eating a lot of root veggies lately and need more recipes! Color…yay!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:15 pmThat’s exactly the pepper I used! I still am loving it!
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
March 12, 2015 at 3:48 pmMy favorite flavor combination is new to me. After making a recipe from the AOC cookbook I have taken to adding a a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg to all things with tomato sauce. I never knew savory could be made better with these spices! I have had the Vegetarian Flavor Bible on my cookbook wish list and would love to enhance my use of spices!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:15 pmDeb, I LOVE adding cinnamon to tomato sauce — it adds such a great warm flavor.
Sarah says
March 12, 2015 at 4:35 pmChocolate + ginger or chocolate + hazelnut! I’ve been vegetarian for 10+ years, would LOVE to add this to my collection 🙂
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:14 pmI couldn’t agree more. Chocolate and hazelnut is one of the best flavor combinations in existence.
Annette says
March 12, 2015 at 10:10 pmI’m not very good with flavor combinations, which is why I need this book. But I do enjoy ginger with orange – I could add that to so many dishes.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:13 pmOh, ginger and orange — that’s a good one!
Stephanie Galbraith says
March 13, 2015 at 1:30 pmMy fiancé likes to mix balsamic and peaches.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:13 pmLove this combination, Stephanie! (Congratulations — I hope you love the book as much as I do!) 😀
Mimi | Mimi Avocado says
March 13, 2015 at 2:50 pmI’m excited to see this new book! Missed the event at Melissa’s. I have some of their other books…so helpful for creative cooks!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:12 pmAgreed, Mimi. I really love it!
Mimi | Mimi Avocado says
March 13, 2015 at 2:52 pmFavorite flavor combinations? How about garlic and ginger and sesame? That’s a good one!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:12 pmOne of my favorites, Mimi!
Theresa Smith says
March 13, 2015 at 4:51 pmI like simply tomato soup, onion powder and white rice. It makes a good, easy spanish rice.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:12 pmOkay, now I’m craving Spanish rice. Yum.
Carolsue says
March 13, 2015 at 7:03 pmThe beets+ginger+mint+orange sounds super good! Will have to try it out.
David says
March 14, 2015 at 7:38 amWhat a cool book! Thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention! xo
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:10 pmDavid, this book is awesome! A great reference book to have at the ready in the kitchen.
Sippitysup says
March 14, 2015 at 10:13 amI am forever googling flavor combos. This book would be a time saver. GREG
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:09 pmMe too, Greg. I’m loving this book — it’s introduced me to some many combinations I’ve never thought of.
Daniel M says
March 14, 2015 at 6:36 pmapple cinnamon is one of my fav combos
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:09 pmOh yes! I love that combo.
PuffyButters says
March 15, 2015 at 3:41 pmMy favorite flavor combination is garlic and lemon. Thanks for the giveaway!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:07 pmLovely!
Marji says
March 15, 2015 at 5:07 pmLove a ginger and garlic combination.
I really like the layout of the book! We’re trying to incorporate more veggies into the diet. I will def seek this out.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:07 pmI adore ginger and garlic — it’s the beginning of a perfect stir-fry!
Holly E says
March 15, 2015 at 6:36 pmI love garlic and turmeric
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:07 pmOn the way to some delicious curry. I can taste it!
karen says
March 15, 2015 at 10:41 pmTomato and basil, not unusual but so summery and delicious
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:06 pmSometimes the most common blends of flavors are the best. 🙂
shaunie says
March 15, 2015 at 10:44 pmDill and thyme is my favorite combination
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:06 pmLovely herbs!
Jayme says
March 16, 2015 at 3:06 pmValentina! Just entered! This book looks amazing! I just bought another vegetarian cookbook and this would be a fantastic compliment! I hope I win!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:06 pmThank you, Jayme! xo
Debby says
March 16, 2015 at 3:44 pmI am actually not very good at flavor combos…. yet. I am a work in progress. I love garlic and put it with almost any other flavors that I am cooking with. I am hoping to just keep cooking and get better with more combos.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:05 pmGarlic is always a great starting point.
Donna Currie says
March 16, 2015 at 4:27 pmBasil and tomato for savory and peanut butter and chocolate for sweet.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:05 pmPerfect and perfect, Donna.
Dana @ Foodie Goes Healthy says
March 17, 2015 at 10:59 pmI love your process of developing this recipe. This book seems like an amazing tool for playing around with new recipes. And your photos are gorgeous! And to answer the question: right now I’m into peas and mint.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:04 pmDana, peas and mint is so refreshing. I love it.
Theresa N says
March 18, 2015 at 4:04 pmI like the combination of spicy and salty.
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:04 pmAdd a little sweet and I’m in!
Brittany Koelmel says
March 18, 2015 at 5:23 pmI like spicy and salty…like wasabi and soy sauce!
valentina says
March 22, 2015 at 8:03 pmBrittany, I LOVE those two together. 🙂
Tisha says
January 14, 2019 at 10:26 pmOh my goodness the color of this is so enticing!!! Gorgeous!
valentina says
January 15, 2019 at 3:07 pmThank you! 😀
Veena Azmanov says
January 15, 2019 at 1:38 amI am just amazed with such healthy Soup options. The flavors too are amazing. Need to definitely go for it.
valentina says
January 15, 2019 at 3:06 pmThank you, Veena! Yes so many soup options, and I’m loving them right now in this cold weather. 🙂
Michelle says
January 15, 2019 at 2:07 amThat book sounds amazing, we turned vegetarian a few months ago so this would be very handy to have. That beet soup looks so good too x
valentina says
January 15, 2019 at 3:05 pmIt’s such a great resource book, Michelle. I love having it on hand. Thanks for the visit!
lola@cheflolaskitchen says
January 15, 2019 at 3:29 amWhat a great book this looks! My family has always loved veg food, sure to get my hands on this one.
valentina says
January 15, 2019 at 3:05 pmHope if you try it you family loves it. Enjoy!
Danielle Wolter says
January 15, 2019 at 4:04 amWhat a delicious combination of flavors! It sounds incredible. That also looks like a great cookbook – I am always on the hunt for great books!
valentina says
January 15, 2019 at 3:04 pmIt is a great book. I love looking up flavor combinations I might not have thought of. Thanks for the visit! 🙂
Leslie says
January 15, 2019 at 5:02 amI just bought the most beautiful bunch of beets at the farmers’ market. This recipe is perfect for them!
valentina says
January 15, 2019 at 2:51 pmYay! Hope you love it! Thanks. 🙂