Roasted Beet Soup

I started with a recipe from Bon Appetit and promptly made some adaptations, adding more root vegetables and using boullion instead of water.

Ingredients

• 3 medium red beets
• 1 medium golden beet
• 1 1/2 teaspoons butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
• 4 carrots
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• ground ginger
• ground ancho chili powder
• 4 C low-sodium chicken boullion
• 2 T pomegranate balsamic
• 3 small bay leaves
• fresh thyme sprigs
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• crème fraîche for serving

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350°F. Roast beets until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour. Cool. Peel beets. Cut into cubes.

Melt butter with oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leeks, onion, carrots, fennel, and celery and cook until beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Stir in spices and beets. Cook until vegetables begin to stick to bottom of pot, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Add boullion and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf and cool soup slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender with cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and refrigerate.)

Gently rewarm soup (do not boil). Divide between bowls. Garnish each with 1 tablespoon crème fraîche. Top with a sprig of thyme.