Beetroot Soup
This post was originally entitled Two Ways With Beetroot.
It is a beautiful late spring day – in the sunnier parts of the garden it is as hot as my pale northern skin can bear – so lunch’s hot beetroot soup becomes a chilled version, vivid pink and topped with creme fraiche and some of the chives that are one of the few herbs that have survived the winter. I won’t quite call it Borscht so as not to offend any purists out there, but if trying to impress, you might choose to.
Beetroot is probably my favourite root vegetable, sweet and earthy and endlessly versatile. The fact that it is packed with iron and other essential vitamins and minerals and a well-known tonic for the blood is a bonus. I make beetroot soup at least every other week, particularly now that I have dispensed with the time-consuming and hand-staining practice of peeling the roots before cooking. (A revelation! If you scrub hard enough, chop the rough ends off and whizz at sufficiently high speed in the blender, voila, soup smooth as anything and far less work).
This soup is also a winner with small girls (pink and sweet) and my daughter actually prefers it cold, but then she is the same child who will eat semi-frozen bolognaise from the pot without flinching . . .. bolognaise ice-cream anyone? All a bit Heston Blumenthal for me, but that’s a whole different post. . .
Not satisfied with just one course of beetroot I am also making a goats cheese and beetroot salad, just because I happen to have some wood-roasted beetroot that needs using up and some delicious spring goat’s cheese waiting . . . as with all my recipes the amounts below will work, but so will subtly different ones giving a different but no less delicious result – so if you have celery but not leeks in the fridge use that. The amount of beetroot as a ratio to other base vegetables is reasonably important, but I have never had a really bad result. More other vegetables, less beetroot equals a paler pink soup.
Beetroot soup (serves at least 6)
1 kg raw beetroot, well scrubbed
1 medium onion
1 large leek, trimmed and washed of all dirt and grit
1 small bulb fennel
1 large carrot
Olive oil
aromatics: 2 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 tbsp thyme leaves
1 litre chicken, beef or vegetable stock (may well need more, up to 1.5 litres)
splash or lemon juice or red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
creme fraiche and sprinkle chives, parsley or thyme to serve
Scrub the beetroot well (might wish to wear gloves though beetroot staining actually comes off quite easily) and trim off the woodier ends and long tail – this will leave you with slightly less than the 1kg specified but don’t worry, then chop into large pieces. Wash, peel and chop the onion, leeks and carrot into large chunks, peel the garlic but you can leave whole.
In a large, heavy-based pan pour as much olive oil as you have a taste for. I use at least 4 or 5 tbsps but I am an olive oil fiend and love the smooth and silky texture a lot of oil gives. It’s your call. If using beef stock by the way (traditional in Borscht I believe) and it has a nice layer of fat on the top don’t hesitate to use this with a blend of oil . . . waste not want not.
Warm the oil and add all the vegetables, the herbs and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Leave on a low/medium heat so that is sauteeing but not sizzling for about 15 mins (or as long as it takes to clean up the beetroot mess). The aim of this is to let the fat release the flavours before adding liquid. Again, purists will add what they call a cartouche, a pan-sized piece of baking paper right on top of the veg so that they can steam and fry simultaneously but I find a lid on the pan works well enough.
Once vegetables are looking suitably softened – a good clue is that everything had turned pinkish – add the stock (veg should be just covered, if they are not add a little more liquid but remember easy to add, impossible to take away). Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until a knife will pierce the largest pieces of beetroot.
Remove from heat and puree – in batches and remember hot soup splurts mercilessly from a jug blender. You may need to add more liquid at this point. If you have a good jug blender (my KitchenAid well worth the investment given how much soup I make) you will achieve a smooth and silky consistency. With a food processor or hand-held blender it may be rougher and readier but not necessarily the worse for it. You can always push it through a sieve to get out any fibrous or unblended bits but this is a serious work-out for the hand and elbow I have found. Lastly adjust seasoning and add a splash of lemon juice or red wine vinegar to taste.
Serve hot or cold in shallow bowls with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a sprinkle of herbs.
Variations on a theme: this soup works especially well with 1 peeled bramley apple added as a replacement for (or addition to) the fennel bulb. Similarly endless versions can be made for seasonal variations – e.g. Beetroot and Tomato in summer, Beetroot and Turnip in winter. The joy of soup is that it is essentially pretty forgiving to the experimental cook (me).
Beetroot and goats cheese salad
This is one of those glorious, throw it together, let the ingredients speak for themselves recipes. Again a seasonal bent is imperative – spring through to early summer is when you want to eat this.
Ingredients
Roasted beetroot – bought (NOT pickled!) or roast similar sized beetroot in the oven with a splash of oil till they can be pierced easily with a knife. Leave to cool and the skins will rub off easily.
As good a fresh goats cheese as you can find
Your best olive oil
Sea salt and pepper.
And that’s it. Assemble 2-3 slices or small balls of beetroot, top with the crumbled cheese and anoint with golden olive oil and a scattering of crunchy grains of salt. Herbs pretty but optional.
Enjoy!
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