For the New Year, Dom at Belleau Kitchen has invited us to cook from a new cookbook. Now I only got one cookbook for Christmas and it features nothing but...CHOCOLATE! However, the house is still full of chocs and biscuits, the fridge still has two jars of homemade mincemeat and we have only just finished the Christmas cake, so I really couldn't face making any more sweet things.
So instead I turned to the books I won from Ren Behan at Fabulicious Food, I got all three of the Moro cookbooks by Sam and Sam Clark. I randomly chose the original Moro book from the three. Then I opened the book in a random sort of way and found that I had chosen
Beetroot Soup with Black Cumin
Beetroot Soup with Black Cumin
4tbsp olive oil
1/2 large Spanish onion,thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 rounded tsp black cumin or normal cumin seeds
750g raw beetroot, peeled and finely diced
1 large potato, finely diced
1.25 litres cold water
3 tbsp good quality red wine vinegar
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
100g home-made or Greek yoghurt, thinned iwht a little milk an seasoned with 1 garlic clove crushed to a paste with sea salt and black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 mintues, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to colour. Now add the garlic and cumin and cook for 2 more minutes to release their flavour, followed by the beetroot and potato. Pour in the water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until soft, about 15 minutes (I don't think I chopped mine small enough as it took much longer to soften). Place the vegetables and the cooking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend until just smooth. You may need to do this in two stages. Return to the pan, add the vinegar, half the parsely and salt and pepper to taste, bearing in mind you may need more salt than you think to blance out the acidity of the vinegar. Servie with a little yoghurt on top, the rest of the parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil.
The soup was very easy to make and looks incredible, it has an interesting sweet and sour taste with the combination of the sweet beetroot and the red wine vinegar. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't taste the cumin and I did actually use black cumin but I can't say it was obvious. I would make it again but might increase the amount of cumin, or maybe use some ground as well as cumin seeds.
1/2 large Spanish onion,thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 rounded tsp black cumin or normal cumin seeds
750g raw beetroot, peeled and finely diced
1 large potato, finely diced
1.25 litres cold water
3 tbsp good quality red wine vinegar
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
100g home-made or Greek yoghurt, thinned iwht a little milk an seasoned with 1 garlic clove crushed to a paste with sea salt and black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 mintues, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to colour. Now add the garlic and cumin and cook for 2 more minutes to release their flavour, followed by the beetroot and potato. Pour in the water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until soft, about 15 minutes (I don't think I chopped mine small enough as it took much longer to soften). Place the vegetables and the cooking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend until just smooth. You may need to do this in two stages. Return to the pan, add the vinegar, half the parsely and salt and pepper to taste, bearing in mind you may need more salt than you think to blance out the acidity of the vinegar. Servie with a little yoghurt on top, the rest of the parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil.
What a fabulous prize! And, a great recipe too....I have made this soup funnily enough as I have all the Moro cookbooks! Beetroot is VERY in right now! LOL!
ReplyDeleteKaren
Oooh! Lovely, I have this book, but haven't used it in ages, so I must have another look at it. Re the cumin, I found the same thing when I used it recently, so doubled it the second time I cooked the supper, and it tasted far better.
ReplyDeletelooks lovely Janice...For extra flavour I usually dry fry my cumin seeds for a minute or so...just how correct that is I don't know, but it might be worth trying?
ReplyDeleteThis is pure heaven for me, beetroot and Moro! The soup looks divine. I am adding beetroot to my list for this weekends shop. Lovely. Thanks so much for taking part x
ReplyDeleteLooks perfect Janice.
ReplyDeleteThat is one of our favourite books. We also visited the restaurant for lunch on our 30th birthdays and absolutely loved it. That kind of cooking is just so tasty and full of flavour and interest, isn't it?
Pity about the cumin but I think your adjustments for next time should sort it out.
Looks like an interesting recipe, and what a fabulous cheery colour for the middle of winter :-)
ReplyDeleteLovely Janice! I do love their food and recipes...a few years back I eat at Moro. And Jamie Oliver was on the table next to us!!
ReplyDeleteNow that sounds wonderful. I love beetroot. I have a packet of black cumin somewhere that I never quite new what to do with - now I do. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWhat chocolate book did you get?
Congratulations on the win (your 100th by now ;-P) and great choice. I love beetroot and this soup looks delicious! I remember having cold beetroot soup which was refreshing.
ReplyDeleteI just got this cookbook for Hanukkah, and marked pretty much every page "to cook immediately." Thanks for reminding me that I should actually cook from it, instead of reading it like a novel.
ReplyDeleteLovely colour and that sweet and sour combination sounds excellent. I love cumin as well so I'm all for increasing the amount.
ReplyDeleteI love the earthiness of beetroot and I'd say the cumin would be perfect with it - pity it didn't come through, but good to know to add extra.
ReplyDeleteI've got 3 beetroot sitting in our veg box from last week's delivery, and this soup is now calling me to make it...!
ReplyDelete