Beetroot Soup

Beetroot Soup

Beetroot soup – perfect for lunch times

” Sweet and earthy (in a good way) it has a velvety texture and intense flavour, made all the better when served with some homemade rye soda bread or sourdough.  Just in case you needed a little extra persuasion to make it, it is worth knowing how utterly good for you beetroot really is.  The first clue is in the colour.  Like all vegetables and fruit, the brighter and richer the colour, the better for you it is.  The ruby purple of a beetroot contains lots of betacarotene and folic acid, helping both your heart stay healthy and also aiding your liver in cleansing your system of toxins.  Brilliant.”

Recipe by - Pippa Kendrick

Serves 4

• 6 – 7 medium sized whole beetroot


• 5 spring onions


• 2 tbsp olive oil


• 1½ litres/3 pints vegetable stock


• The juice of ½ a lemon


• 3 tbsp Oat Cream, plus extra for serving


• A shot of vodka, optional

Rinse the beetroot and cut away the leaves leaving about 1 inch of the stalks intact.  Place the beetroot in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil.  Once boiling, reduce the heat and very gently simmer for 45 minutes or so, until the beetroot are tender.  Drain the beetroot and leave in the colander until cool enough to handle.  When ready, run the cold tap over the beetroot and gently slide off the skins – they should slip off easily.

Next, trim the spring onions so that you are left with only the white part of the onion.  Keep and finely slice a few of the very crisp, green stalks for use later, discard the rest and then finely chop the white spring onion.  Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, throw in the spring onions and sweat them over a low heat until translucent.  Pour over the vegetable stock and leave to simmer gently for five minutes.

Cut the cooked beetroot into chunks and add them to the onions and stock.  Using a blender or hand held processor blitz until the soup is smooth and velvety.  Add the lemon juice, oat cream, vodka (if using) and season, blitz again, check the seasoning and then pour into bowls.  Add a swirl of oat cream (about a teaspoon) to each bowl and sprinkle with the onion garnish before serving.