- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 onion
- 2 chioggia beetroot
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 lemon
- A handful of flat leaf parsley
- A thumb of horseradish
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 750ml boiling water
- 1.
Scrub the carrot (no need to peel, although you can if you prefer). Halve lengthways and thinly slice it. Thinly slice the celery. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel, quarter and thinly slice the beetroot (to avoid stains, wear gloves, if you like, and wash your chopping board straight away). Peel and thinly slice the garlic.
- 2.
Warm a large pan over a medium heat for 2 mins. Add 1 tbsp oil. Add all the veg and both bay leaves with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 mins to just start to soften the veg.
- 3.
Dissolve the stock cube in 750ml boiling water. Pour into the pan. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down. Cover and simmer for 30 mins.
- 4.
Finely grate the zest from the lemon. Stir most of the zest into the soup. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
- 5.
Finely chop the parsley stalks. Roughly chop the leaves. Stir the stalks and most of the leaves into the soup. Peel and grate in a little of the horseradish (it’s hot, so start with a little and add more later if you prefer). Taste and add more salt, pepper or horseradish if needed.
- 6.
Ladle into warm bowls, discarding the bay leaves. Serve garnished with the remaining lemon zest and parsley leaves.
- Tip
You smoothie
This is also delicious blitzed in a blender to make a smooth, velvety textured soup. Once cooked, just add everything to a blender and whizz till you get the consistency you want. - Tip
Feeling purple
Beetroot can stain, so be careful when you prepare it. Peel and chop it on a plate, or use a wooden chopping board that you can wash up strain away, and wear gloves to protect your hands and an apron to protect your clothes.