The best beetroot soup
You can’t beet this recipe for menopause. This beetroot soup is heart-warming and richly colourful and a sure winner in winter or summer.
Beetroots have a bevy of health benefits, including vitamin C and folic acid. They are beneficial for our bone health, being calcium rich. They also have a multitude of minerals including magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and sodium all essential for our general wellbeing.
We sautéed the vegetables in butter, however for those vegans amongst us then swap it for olive oil.
Serves: 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1hour 45 minutes
Ingredients
65g butter, or 3 tbsp olive oil if vegan
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
pinch of dried red chilli flakes, optional
600g beetroot, scrubbed clean, trimmed and sliced (no need to peel)
800ml vegetable stock, hot
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
400ml coconut milk
milled linseeds, to serve
handful of coriander, chopped to serve
Method
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pan on a low heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and a splash of water, cover and sweat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft. Add the sliced beetroot, cumin, turmeric and chilli flakes, stir and cover to sweat for a further 15 minutes.
Add the vinegar into the pan, stir the vegetables well and continue to cook until the moisture in the pan has evaporated.
Pour in the stock, season and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, until the beetroot is tender. Cool slightly, then puree with a hand held blender, or in batches in a food processor, until smooth. Return it to the saucepan, pour in the coconut milk (reserve a little to decorate when serving) and reheat, stirring continuously. Check the seasoning and consistency – if you like a thinner soup then add more water. Serve with a drizzle of coconut milk and sprinkle with the milled linseeds.