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Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a separate saucepan. Cover the potatoes with water, add a pinch of salt and boil until fork-tender, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Drain the water. Let stand, covered, until ready to serve.

Add the cabbage, apple, dill, orange zest and a generous grinding of black pepper to the soup pot. Cook, covered, stirring once or twice, over medium heat for 10 ® minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted. Add the reserved beet greens, if using, 5 minutes before serving.

When the soup is hot, stir in the vinegar. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and vinegar. Place a hot potato in each bowl and halve or quarter it. Ladle the soup over the potatoes and garnish each bowl with a spoonful of sour cream, yogurt or crème fraîche (if using) and a generous sprinkling of chopped dill.

Shortcuts

To save time, use the conveniently precooked and peeled beets available in some markets and skip steps 1 and 2. Dice half of the beets and shred the rest. Add them to the soup in step 3 halfway through the cooking time, then proceed with the recipe, omitting the addition of the beet greens.

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Make a Meal

Serve with thick toasted slices of crusty whole-grain bread, perhaps smeared with Multi-Mushroom Pâté ([>]). If your beets have no greens, consider serving Swiss Chard with Fragrant Garlic and Salt ([>]) or Stir-Fried Asian Greens with Crisp Golden Garlic ([>]).

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PUMPKIN AND TOMATO SOUP WITH CHEESE

The unlikely combination of pumpkin and tomatoes makes a delightfully easy soup. This version uses canned pumpkin, but if you happen to have some fresh winter squash or blocks of frozen squash in the freezer, you can use that instead (see Substitutions). The soup's flavors are rounded out with the addition of cumin and a generous topping of shredded cheese. Omit the cheese for a vegan variation.

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 6 to 8

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

1 garlic clove, grated

2½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 can (28 ounces) whole plum tomatoes with juice or 2½ pounds ripe, juicy tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped

2 cans (15 ounces each) pureed pumpkin

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Coarse salt

2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup coarsely shredded Comté, Pecorino Romano or sharp cheddar cheese, or plain yogurt or crème fraîche

Heat the oil in a soup pot until it is hot enough to sizzle a piece of onion. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, pumpkin, 2½ cups water, tomato paste and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover and cool slightly. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary, and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pot. Add additional water to thin the soup if necessary.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Add more salt, if needed, and black pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and divide the cheese among the bowls, mounding it in the center of each serving, or add a dollop of yogurt or crème fraîche. Serve at once.

Vegan Variation

Make a batch of Crispy Kale ([>]) and sprinkle a handful on top of each bowl of soup instead of the cheese topping.

Substitutions

To make this soup truly fresh (though not fast), substitute roasted butternut or kabocha squash for the pumpkin. You will need 2½ to 3 cups mashed cooked squash. To save preparation time, roast the squash a day or two ahead and refrigerate until ready to use. Or you can use 2 boxes (14 ounces each) frozen pureed squash, thawed, or 2 bags (10 to 12 ounces each) fresh squash chunks, cooked in the soup until tender.

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Make a Meal

Serve with Toasted Flatbread (Naan) with Goat Cheese, Sautéed Greens and Crispy Shallots ([>]; omit the goat cheese