Bay-smoked Beetroot Soup

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Bay-smoked Beetroot Soup

Brighten up your bowl with this radiant beetroot soup smoked with bay branches, which grow wild all over the UK. The smoking process is a great way to cook root vegetables quickly whilst adding tonnes of flavour!

Ingredients

• A handful of rice or buckwheat groats
• A large handful of bay leaves and branches
• 500 grammes smallish beetroot
• 1-1.5 litres vegetable stock
• A large handful of wild garlic or three-cornered leeks
• 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds, lightly toasted
• Coconut milk or yoghurt, to serve (optional)
• Fennel fronds and wild leek or garlic flowers, to garnish (optional)

 

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6.
2. Line a lidded cast iron pot or similar large, heavy-based pot with a double layer of foil large enough to cover the base and sides of the pan. Set over high heat.
3. Scatter the rice or buckwheat into the pot, creating a thin, 1 centimetre-deep layer. Pile the bay leaves and broken branches over the top. Add the beetroot in a single layer, if possible. Scrunch the foil together over the beetroot to make a little parcel. Pop the lid on.
4. Once you see smoke escaping from the pot, set your timer for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat. Let the beetroot sit in the smoky pot for a further 10 minutes. Test to see if they’re cooked through. If not, transfer to the preheated oven.
6. Warm your stock through. Once the beets are cooked, peel, roughly chop and place in a blender with a handful of the three-cornered leeks or wild garlic and the fennel seeds. Start blending, trickling the warm stock in little by little until it’s as thick or as thin as you like it. Season to taste. Add more three-cornered leeks or wild garlic, if needed.
7. Serve warm. Finish with a swirl of coconut milk or coconut yoghurt (or blend it into the soup for a creamier texture).

Thank you to Rachel de Thample for this delicious recipe @dethample

Photo credit: Rachel de Thample