The #Beastfromtheeast has left its mark over all of northern Europe it seems and snowy Malmö is no exception. I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands with this stalwart soup that will batten down the hatches with plenty of fresh alium and flush out any lingering nasties with the heat of the chilli. The level of any of these is preferential, but here are the amounts that I used.
You will need:
- 1 pack of cooked Beetroot, and its juice
- The zest & juice of 1/2 lemon,
- 1/2 tsp chilli, (go full tsp if you’re feeling particularly under the weather!),
- 2 medium potatoes,
- 1/2 an onion,
- 1tbs Sauerkraut juice (optional, I used some, leftover from my dear friend Kathe Kaczmarzyk’s pop-up here in Malmö) ,
- 3 cloves of garlic,
- 3 rhizomes of fresh turmeric, grated,
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon,
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger,
- Salt & pepper,
- 500ml homemade veg stock
- 1tbs dried parsley,
For the orange, ginger & mustard crème:
- 2tbs dairy free crème fraîche (I used Oatly fraîche)
- 1tsp wholegrain mustard
- zest & juice of 1/4 orange
- Thumb- size piece of ginger, grated
Garnish:
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped.
The method for soups is always fairly simple, the magic here is the contents and not the process.
Chop the onion, the garlic and the onions roughly, separately chop up the beetroot into chunks and make sure you keep the juices.
Gently soften the onion and the garlic in a little oil and then add the potatoes, stir them through. Begin to add the lemon juice, the sauerkraut, the beetroot pieces, the beetroot juice and then grate in the lemon zest and the turmeric. Be careful with the fresh turmeric as it will stain anything, including your skin, so you might want to use gloves. Add the spices, the herbs and then pour over the stock, season to your taste including the chilli!
Bring the whole thing up to a robust simmer before sticking in the oven at 140 degrees celsius (fan assisted) and allow it to do its thing for at least an hour. Take the whole thing out, stir and check the seasoning. When you’re happy with it you can blast the whole thing with a stick blender or a food processor until it’s thick.
The aroma should be rich and earthy with the beetroot and the garlic, the back notes from the sauerkraut and the lemon should be sharp and punchy. The heat should be there to the taste too from the chilli. The colour should be like you’ve liquidised rubies.
For the punchy crème, simply mix all the ingredients together into a bowl and leave to thicken for 5 minutes.
Serve with a good loaf of your favourite sourdough, a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a generous dollop of the punchy fraîche.
Enjoy!
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