Tomato borscht

A lovely colourful soup for a winter's day. And let's face it we've been having quite a few of those of late!

Three notes:
1. If you do not have a food processor in which to grate the beetroot, think carefully before embarking on this recipe. I don't have one, and the grating almost broke my spirit. Think about it carefully especially if your grater is rather old and not very sharp. Luckily I had a sharper one in the cupboard that I was obviously saving for this very occasion!

2. If you are grating by hand, wear an apron and surround your pan with some large sheets of newspaper to catch all the little bits that will inevitably fly off onto whatever happens to be nearby and stainable. On no account wear your best white frock.

3. I paired it with some homemade (breadmaker-made) bread - a standard white loaf but with added pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds, linseed and chopped walnuts. Delicious!

The recipe comes from the New Covent Garden Soup Company's book 'Soup and beyond'.



25g/1oz butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
225g/8oz raw beetroot, grated
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
225g/8oz fresh ripe tomatoes, skinned & finely chopped
275ml/1/2 pint tomato juice
1 tbsp tomato puree
570ml/1 pint vegetable stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
salt/pepper

Melt the butter and cook the onion, garlic and beetroot in a covered saucepan for 10 mins on a low heat. Add the cumin, cinnamon, tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato puree and stock.

Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the soy sauce and check the seasoning.

Cool, then blend until smooth.

Serve either hot with a swirl of creme fraiche, or you can even serve it chilled on a hot day.