Roasted Cumin Beet Soup & “Scrimps”
February 2nd, 2008 by Rumblefish
Oh, hell yeah! I have made this recipe about 4 times to perfect it. This recipe takes me away to another land. I don’t know which one, but one nonetheless.
Ok. So I rummage through the finest produce stands in San Francisco. I find the best looking beets at Bi-Rite. Great. I also walk the streets for some nice prawns. I find some at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Right on! I make my way home and begin the preparation. This recipe seems complicated, but it is not.
Serves 2 easily with a bit of left over
- 3 nice sized organic beets
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh prawns (Not previously frozen)
- 3 blood oranges
- 1 tablespoon roasted cumin
- 1 tablespoon non salted European butter
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced organic garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced organic shallot
- 2 teaspoons dried, crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Easy. Boil the beets in 3 cups of water for about 30 minutes. Remove from the gas stove and cool. Pull the beets from the pot and puree in some sort of appliance. Add the beet puree back to the beet water. Add in one tablespoon of roasted cumin. For the cumin, I usually just heat a wok and toss in the cumin and keep stirring until it turns a nice shade of tan. Add in two teaspoons of Kosher salt. Add in one tablespoon of rich, thick, heavy cream. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile back at the bat cave…
De-vein and clean the fresh shrimp. Add the butter and oil to the pan. Heat on medium. Add in the shallots, garlic and pepper. Get that to a nice sizzle. Add in the shrimp and mix for about one minute. Add in the thyme and the parsley and mix again. Remove from stove top and broil downtown for 5 minutes. Bring the pan back uptown, remove the shrimp and plate. Pour in 1 cup of fresh squeezed blood orange juice into the pan. Reduce for 10 minutes or about in half. Pour the reduction over those good lookin’ scrimps on a nice white plate. Serve with a cup of plain white rice. Pair that up with about 1 cup of beet soup and some pink champaign.
Wow.