Now that the MA is done I find myself with *gasp* a bit of actual free time. I’ve been trying to put it to good use and so have been reading lots of my fellow food bloggers’ missives. They are a great bunch (see Blaggers Banquet and WMPC for validation) and love to share their recipes.

I have also developed a soup addiction, since the massage. It’s just so easy, you make soup for lunch on the weekend, freeze 4 portions and that’s your lunch for the week. Simply reheat in the work microwave. I’ve been doing it for a few weeks now and have enough random batches to have a different soup every day!

Anyway whether you are cooking for the week or just fancy a home made, delicately spiced and sweetly flavoured lunch this is a great one, that I discovered on The Food Urchin’s excellent blog, from the delightful Moro Cookbook. It is so good that I think I’ll get off the laptop and make some more…

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 tbs olive oil
half a large onion, sliced
2 garlic gloves, thinly sliced
1 rounded tsp black cumin or normal cumin seeds
750g raw beetroot
1 large potato
1.25 ltrs of cold water
3 tbs of red wine vinegar
1 small bunch fresh parsley
100g Greek yoghurt, thinned with milk and seasoned with crushed garlic
sea salt and black pepper

1. Slice onion and heat oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat
2. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to colour
3. Meanwhile thinly slice garlic, peel and dice beetroot and potato
4. Add garlic and cumin to pan, cook for 2 more minutes to release their flavour, followed by the beetroot and potato
5. Pour in the water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until soft, about 15 minutes
6. Roughly chop parsley, put the vegetables and cooking liquid in a blender or whizz with a blender stick until just smooth. If using blender you can just scoop out and blend the solids, returning to the pan once done
7. Add the vinegar, half the parsley and salt and pepper to taste. You may need more salt than you think to balance the acidity of the vinegar. Serve with a little yoghurt on top, the rest of the parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil