This recipe was commissioned by Dairy Australia for their Australian Dairy Discovery cookbook.
Hot or cold
One would expect a beetroot soup to be earthy in flavour, something like the Russian borscht, rich, and perfect for a cold winter night.
This recipe is a little different though. Your first spoonful will reveal a refreshingly acidic taste thanks to generous amounts of sour cream and the addition of a sour apple.
This makes it perfect to enjoy all throughout the year. Try it cold in summer, gazpacho style, for a light lunch.
Growing beetroot
Beetroot is one of the easiest vegetable to grow all year. Maybe not in the heat of the Aussie summer, but for the rest of the year, you can’t really go wrong giving this one a go. I’ve had best results when growing from seedling. Here’s a little tip for you:
Separate the seedlings one by one to give each plant enough space to grow a decent size root. If you leave them in a clump, each root has to fight for nutrition in the soil, resulting in very little growth.
Make sure your plants are surrounded by plenty of mulch to retain water in the soil. They don’t mind full sun, but when the leaves are showing signs of drying out, it may be a good idea to add some shading.
Your homegrown beetroot may not be as large as the ones from the supermarket, and they are likely to have some imperfections, but that really doesn’t matter, right? Especially when they’re being made into soup!
Roasted beetroot soup with sour cream
Ingredients
- 500 g beetroot raw
- 25 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 leek sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 carrot grated
- 1 apple grated
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 3 bay leaves
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 300 g sour cream
- dill to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan forced 200°C).
- Cut beetroot into medium sized pieces, toss in olive oil and smoked paprika, then arrange on a large baking tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes until tender.
- In a large pot, melt butter and sauté leek until soft. Add garlic and fry for a minute before stirring in carrot, apple and the roasted beetroot. Cook until fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in vegetable stock and season with bay leaves, salt, sugar and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Take off the heat, remove bay leaves, then drop in 200g sour cream. Blend with a stick blender until very smooth and creamy. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve in bowls, with a dollop of sour cream and a few sprigs of dill to garnish.
