| Beetroot and caraway soup |
 The photo just doesn't do it justice. This soup is precisely the colour of raspberry coulis, which messes with your head while you're eating, I can tell you. But I like this combination of flavours very much - the intense sweetness of beetroot, sharp cut of vinegar mellowed a little by long cooking, caraway, and damp, sour yeastiness of rye. Lovely.
I should also mention that, when I rule the earth, caraway will be spelled carroway, just like it always is in my head.
| olive oil |
| 1 onion, peeled and chopped |
| 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped |
| 2 teaspoons caraway seeds |
| 250 g potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 cm cubes |
| 500 g beetroots, peeled and chopped into 1 cm cubes |
| 40 ml cider vinegar |
| 700 ml vegetable stock |
| sea salt to taste |
| creme fraiche, sour cream or Greek yoghurt, to serve |
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then saute the onions over medium heat for 7 minutes or so until they are softened and translucent. Add the garlic and caraway seeds and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add the potatoes, beetroots, vinegar, stock and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 45 minutes or more, until the potatoes and beetroots are very tender (if you don't cook them long enough the texture of the soup will be grainy).
Blend the soup in a food processor or blender, and return to the pan. Bring back to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Serve with an additional pinch of caraway seeds and a spoonful of creme fraiche, and some rye bread. The rye bread really is essential! It is a beautiful synergy of flavours.
Serves 4 as a starter (we ate this as a main but it is probably better in smaller doses, lovely as it is).
Comments (2)
26 October 2004
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