I don’t like beetroot, why do I keep trying to cook with it? I refuse to be defeated by a vegetable and a root vegetable at that. Also, I was traumatised by beets as a child. My parents believed that if they put food on a plate at supper time; we children should eat it. They tried various stratagems to get me to eat the beets.

Most of my generation will recognise these; ‘just one bite’, ‘how do you know you don’t like them’, ‘you’re going to sit here at the table until you eat those beets’, ‘I’m going to warm up the beetroot for every meal until you eat it’.

Basically, this was a running gun battle that happened most Thursday nights (Thursday menu was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cole slaw and beets). I didn’t (don’t) eat meatloaf or beets and so battle was joined.

However, I’m an adult (allegedly) and I’m not going to let the beetroot win. Hence, my quest to find something that makes beetroot fun to eat.

Claire, one of the lovely dressers at Smartworks, found this recipe for me. And I think we’ve cracked it. I’ve made a few tweaks. The Davinator said ‘OMG, this is it, you have made beetroot taste amazing’. Even I like this soup.

It’s a relatively simple recipe but I suggest all the usual precautions when peeling, cutting and cooking with beetroot. Wear rubber gloves, don’t let the peeled beetroot touch anything that is porous or you can’t scrub with lots of hot water and strong soap.

One health warning – excessive consumption of beetroot is not recommended for those with a history of kidney stones or kidney disease.

Time to make soup.

Ingredients

1 – small onion

30 grams of butter

1 medium potato

2 medium parsnips

4 small or 2 large beetroots

800 mls of vegetable stock or other light stock

2 tablespoons of cooking brandy

Sour cream or full fat Greek yoghurt for serving

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a deep soup pot. The recipe makes enough for 6 starter size portions of soup. But you’re going to want the deep pot later.
2. Peel the potato, the parsnips and the beetroot. Cut into rough dice, about 2 cms. The smaller the dice, the quicker it cooks.
3. Rough chop the onion and add to the melted butter. Cook over a low heat until translucent.
4. Add the cooking brandy to the onions. Increase the heat to high and burn off the alcohol.
5. Add the stock to the pot. I actually use vegetable stock cubes and put them and the hot water directly in the pot. Bring to a boil.
6. Once the stock is boiling, add the potato, parsnips and beetroot. Cook at steady simmer until the vegetables are soft. Cooking time will depend on how small you have diced the vegetables. The quicker you can cook the beetroot the more purple your finished soup will be. Start checking after about 15 minutes. Mine took about 30 minutes.
7. Take out your trusty stick blender and puree the soup.
8. Put the soup in the serving bowls, add a big dollop of sour cream or yogurt and enjoy.

Tags: beet soupbeetrootbeetroot soupbeetssoupsour creamvegetables