Beetroot soup

It’s a bit (or more than just a bit, but my European body can stand really low temperatures) chilly in Brisbane lately. So there is no better way to make me feel good inside, than just have a big bowl of soup. This one is a more casual variation of borscht, which in Poland is one of the main Christmas Eve dinner dishes.

I don’t make this one very often. The most popular in our house is a tomato soup, because it takes only about 15 minutes to prepare. But when I went to a great farmers market and found those pretty organic beetroots I couldn’t resist. I picked up also some beautiful potatoes (unfortunately forgot about carrot) and it was time for my ultimate-winter-warmer beetroot soup.

Preparations take a quite long time, to peel all the veggies, slice, dice and grate. Oh, and your working surface will look like a murder scene with all the red mess from beetroots. But no worries, the taste pays off all the cleaning 🙂

Ingredients (for about 6 portions):

4 big beetroots
4 small potatoes
1 carrot
1,5 l water
salt, pepper
lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
fresh or dried parsley leaves
2 stock cubes

Method:

1. Beetroots: peel and dice into very little cubes (or grate). Put in a big pot, cover with water. Place on a medium heat.

2. Potatoes: peel, dice and cook separately with a bit of salt until soft.

3. Add lemon juice into cooking beetroots. Clean and grate a carrot, add to the pot.

4. Put the stock cubes inside the pot.

5. After about 20 minutes of cooking the beetroots should be soft. Try some and add salt and pepper to taste (it should be a bit sour from the lemon and a bit sweet and mild from the beetroots).

6. Serve hot in a bowl filled with cooked potatoes and parsley.

I like it clear, but some people add a table spoon of cream to each serve.