Brit Abroad Beet(root) Soup - served hot

Looking at two week's worth of beetroots (beets in American) which I don't really like (too many salads covered with the chopped pickled things as a child) but they come in the veg box, I ask Iain if he has any bright ideas. He likes roast beetroots but requested beetroot soup as he'd had an interesting "spiced" beetroot soup recently. So I found a recipe in the first MORO book and amended it a little. Not that the original wouldn't be lovely but I have a thing about cardamom at the moment and I didn't have black cumin seeds, or good quality red wine vinegar. Now I have found a very delicious way to eat these red roots.

Preparing beetroots. Two options 1) stain your hands,  your beautiful white surfaces, chopping boards and anything within a 3ft radius bright pink forever, or 2) slightly unorthodox prep - I was desperate and had no gloves. Cover the chopping board (though I had to do this after I started but realised it was essential) and about a foot round it in several layers of newspaper. Then cover with cling film. Chop beets. You will slice the cling film but it keeps most of the beet juice off the paper & vice versa. Use disposable gloves or in my case two large plastic bags. Top and tail beets and just trim off the oldest bits of skin - the rest will cook down just fine. Then slice or chop or whatever the recipe needs. When done you just fold up the paper and bags and dump. Neat.

Paula from Pitt

• 4tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 large spanish onion

• 2 cardamom pods cracked

• 1tsp cumin seeds

• 1/2tsp charnushka (Nigella sativa) seeds* (whilst checking the spelling I find out something interesting...)

• 750g raw beetroot (I had roughly this before topping and tailing about 1.5lbs)

• 1 large potato finely diced

• 1L water (4cups) might need to up this depending on how thick you like your soup

• 1tbsp white wine vinegar +1tbsp wickedly good  Manzanilla sherry (because it was in the fridge) but any good dry sherry would work I reckon

• small bunch fresh flat leaf parsley roughly chopped

• plain yoghurt

Get a heavy based, med - large pan with a lid - I use my Le Crueset casserole, set on a low-moderate heat and add oil. Set cardamom, cumin & black onion seeds to crack in the olive oil. When you are starting to smell spice then add the onion and turn as low as low as you can get, cover and soften for at least 15 mins, til translucent-ish. Stir a couple of times. Add beetroot, potato and water and stir well. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20mins or so until veggies are soft. FISH OUT THE CARDAMOM.

Purée with handheld processor or in a food blender/processor til smooth. Return to pan. Add 1/2 parsley, vinegar & sherry. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add more water at this point if needed. Warm. Serve with blob of yoghurt and sprinkle of parsley. This is served hot but you could probably serve it cold if you liked.

*Now I find out that charnushka which I use a lot is in fact BLACK CUMIN SEED!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigella_sativa