Quick Beetroot Soup

Recipe by Clare Mcelhatton.

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Serves 2. Ready in 20 minutes- but always tastes better the next day!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium potato (around 220g). Peeled or unpeeled and cut into chunks.

• 1 medium carrot (around 90g). Peeled and grated

• 1 medium Beetroot (around 120g). Peeled and grated.

• Lemon juice

• Bouillon powder or stock cube (vegetable, chicken or beef will all work)

• 6 bay leaves

• Dijon mustard

• ½ a leek cut lengthways and then sliced. Wash well to get rid of any soil in the layers

• Oil

Steps:

1. Sweat the leek in a little oil or butter until soft. Be careful not to burn or brown the leek.

2. Add the potato, carrot, beetroot and around 600mls of water. Add 2 teaspoons of bouillon powder or 1 stock cube

3. Add the bay leaves and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the potato is soft

4. Remove the bay leaves

5. Add the juice of ½ a lemon and 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and plenty of black pepper

6. Mush the potatoes slightly to thicken the broth, or partially blitz with a stick blender

7. Taste- adjust the seasoning if needed by adding more salt/stock, lemon or mustard

Market Garden Extras:

• Any of the tough dark green tops of the leek

• Celery stalks and leaves

• Rosemary or Thyme

Can all be simmered (be careful not to boil) with the broth and removed at the end with the bay leaves

• Beetroot leaves can be shredded and added to the broth before serving

Swaps

• Substitute cannellini or butter beans for half or all of the potato

• The broth can be blended and served as a soup. For this, dice the carrots and beetroot (instead of grating) and cook until soft.