Beetroot & Tomato Soup

Serves 6

This is a delicious and nourishing twist on standard tomato soup; the beets give such an interesting texture and create an amazing colour! Super simple, you can mix and match with spices to see what you like best. Cumin is a great replacement for the corriander if you don't have it to hand. I often make this if I have leftover beetroot from making Cacao Beetroot Cupcakes :)

Ingredients:

3-4 medium raw beetroot

3 large tomatoes (chopped)

4 medium red onions (finely chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)

3 tbsp of olive oil

940 ml (almost a litre) of vegetable stock

2 tsp of tomato puree

1tsp of ground coriander

1tsp of oregano

A handful of fresh basil (for garnishing)

Salt, pepper and dried chili (to taste)

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, cover the beets with water (leave the skin on) and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat to medium/simmer and cook for about 45 minutes or until tender.
2. Once tender, drain off the water, peel off the skin (use a knife and fork to do so or your hands will be stained), chop them into quarters and place in a bowl on the side.
3. In the same saucepan, warm the olive oil over a medium heat, as the chopped red onion and 2 cloves of garlic and, stirring constantly, cook gently until softened.
4. Add the tomatoes and beetroot, and spices (and chili here if you like it spicy!). Continue stirring for about another 5 minutes.  Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 min.
5. Then add the vegetable stock, turn the heat down and simmer with a lid on for about 10 minutes.
6. Take off the heat and let the soup cool for about 10 minutes before pureeing it with your hand-blender (or ladling it into your food processor in batches) until smooth.
7. Re-warm the soup and season to taste, adding some fresh basil leaves to garnish.

NB. This will freeze for about two months and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.