Beetroot-Horseradish Soup (vegan)

Honestly, there can’t be a better way for elevating root vegetables to star status. This is such a light concoction of root veggies, with an element of pleasant surprise in every sip! It hosts a combination of sweet and pungent, mellow and sharp. It’s one of those soups that makes sure you don’t restrict the wow factor to cream or meaty broths–as I always say, it’s all in the right spices that you season with, and the right combination of veggies.

This soup happened to find itself in a pot on my kitchen stove as an inspiration (and an attempt to replicate) from Pret-A-Manger‘s “Beetroot and Horseradish Soup”. On a cold October afternoon in Northern England, that’s about the best thing that can happen to you, finding the nearest Pret shop and chugging down some hearty, healthy, warming soup–it’s actually one of the things that makes me want to go back to England (I mean it). And although the recipe is a well-kept secret, Pret tends to give its clients a hint on the “making of” by listing the ingredients of its foods. And although I couldn’t find them all (no sherry vinegar), and I had to guess the amount of each ingredient, I did my best to try to come up with a similar artifact–and I guess it worked! Except for the fact that I didn’t have any sherry vinegar on me, which is pretty hard to find here in Dubai.

It’s so filling that you won’t even believe that our version is only 45 calories per serving (plus, it’s a great source of the antioxidant betalain, along with vitamin c, manganese, copper, and other good guys! And there are no fats whatsoever, but you can add a little good fats if you wish by drizzling in a bit of olive oil.

What you need is the following (serves 6):

4 beets, cut into chunks

1 horseradish (or a parsnip), chopped

1 large onion, cut into chunks

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 tbsp caraway seeds

1 tsp sherry vinegar (I used white vinegar instead)

8 cups water or organic vegetable stock

salt and pepper, to taste

1 bay leaf

Preparation:

Just boil everything for around 30 minutes, and then blend in a food processor or blender for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth. Alternatively, you can stir-fry the vegetables first with some olive oil before adding the water (or stock) for boiling.

Enjoy!

Roula 🙂