Spiced Pink Soup Recipe
- 2 large or 3 medium raw beets
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 7 cups heated chicken or vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper
- 2 scallions, halved lengthwise
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wrap each beet in foil and bake for one and a half to two hours until tender. Unwrap partly and leave for a while until bearable to touch. And I’d put on rubber gloves for this, too, or you’ll have a touch of the Lady Macbeth’s about you after. Gingerly peel them—when they’re this well cooked the skin should rub off easily—and then cut them into chunks. Put them in the food processor with the juice of the lime, the cumin and coriander and blitz to a pulp while pouring the stock down the funnel. You may want to wear an apron for this (or stand well back). Indeed, you may feel happier doing this in two batches. Taste for salt and pepper, blitz again and then pour into a large pitcher. Add the split scallions and leave to cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating for up to three days.
- Just before you want to eat this, pick out the scallions and, to make for a desirably creamy base, blitz again while adding the sour cream (¾ cup first, then see if you want the rest). Decant back into the pitcher (for easier pouring) then duly pour into waiting teacups. If you’re using more capacious soup bowls in place of the cups, you may find you feed only six from this.
