Beetroot Soup
source : Poh's kitchen
Ingredients
50g butter
1 large brown onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
500g beetroot, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
1 ½ litres beef stock* (pre-made)
3 tbs plain flour
180ml (¾ cup) passata / tomato puree or tinned crushed tomatoes
300g desiree potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp table salt OR to taste (double if using sea salt flakes)
¼ tsp freshly cracked white or black pepper
250ml (1 cup) sour cream or crème fraiche
4 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley
Beef Stock
2 kg beef bones
2 carrots
2 medium brown onions, with skins roughly chopped
3 litres water
2 sticks celery, with tops and roughly chopped
1 bouquet garni (2 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme and 1 bay leaf)
10 - 12 black peppercorns
Method
- Heat butter in a large non stick saucepan on medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft but not coloured. Add beetroot and carrot and sauté until tender, then pour in beef stock. While this is heating up on the stove, whisk plain flour into three tablespoons of the tomato puree. Whisk with the remaining tomato puree and combine with rest of soup mixture. Cover and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes, balsamic and sugar. Simmer until potatoes are tender and then add the salt and pepper. Blend in a blender or with a stick blender until silky smooth. Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche, sprinkle of parsley and pirozhki.
- Beef Stock
- Preheat over to 200ºC and bake bones in a roasting dish for half an hour. Add the carrots and onions and bake for another 20 minutes. Transfer the contents of the roasting dish into a large stock pot and pile in the remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, then lower to a simmer, for four hours, skimming the frothy impurities off the top as you go along. Strain the stock through a fine sieve to remove then discard all the solids. Cool and refrigerate so all the fat solidifies and is easily removed and discarded.
