This garnet coloured, rooty soup, is spiked with threads of finely grated fresh horseradish. The recipe comes from a book called Seasonal Soups by Fraser Reid. Fraser is a greengrocer from Dundee. In 2009 he fell in love with the idea of selling the freshest local vegetables to his local community and hit on the idea of providing all the ingredients for making soup in a bag costing less than £3.00. I bought my copy of the book at the beautifully situated Watermill Bookshop and Cafe at Aberfeldy. The book caught my eye because of the stylish, colourful soups on the front cover and the simple but ingenious combinations of ingredients used. How about ‘Roasted pepper, butterbean and rosemary’? Or “Persian root and fruit’ made with carrots, parsnips turnip and pear combined with warming spices such as coriander, cumin and a pinch of smoked paprika. The 52 soups in the book are deceptively simple (each is made with a standard 1.2l stock providing four generous servings) but the combination of ingredients shows a sophisticated palette at work. They all look rather beautiful too. I will be working my way through this book.
Just a note about horseradish.If you don’t have fresh used good quality creamed to finish the soup.
I have a big root of horseradish growing effortlessly in my garden. It’s growth is contained by the raised bed it is planted in. A slice of the root can be taken at any time of the year. I do this with a small, very sharp bladed spade. The horseradish then has to be scrubbed and peeled before grating. Some prefer to do this wearing gloves because peeling horseradish can release hot mustard type oils that can sting eyes. The “hotness” from horseradish comes from isothiocyanate, a volatile compound that, when oxidized by air and saliva, generates the “heat”. The bite and aroma of the horseradish root are almost absent until it is grated or ground.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
300g - 400 g of beetroot, washed and roughly chopped
3 medium parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
Thumb size piece of fresh horseradish, finely grated
1.2l stock (I used vegetable stock)
Method
Fry the onion and garlic in a large pot with a lid, for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the chopped beetroot and parsnips and give everything a stir. Add about half the grated horseradish into the pot and continue to cook the vegetables gently. Pour the stock in with the vegetables and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for 25 to 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Allow the pan of vegegetables to cool a little before blending everything together until smooth. Taste the soup and season to your taste. Add a little more grated horseradish if you’d like to.
NB I prefer to use a NutriBullet to blend soups. The NutriBullet produces a smooth velvety texture. A stick blender also produces a great soup but it will have a rougher texture.
