Cold Roasted Beetroot and Fennel Soup
A refreshing summer soup made with ingredients usually associated with the colder months.
Serves 2
Ingredients
500 g pre-cooked beetroot
1 fennel
3 celery stalks
1 onion
2 vegetable stock cubes
1 bay leaf
1 small cucumber
1 small red onion
1 bunch radishes
1 orange
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
dark country bread to serve
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. Cut the beetroot into chunks. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and roast for 15 minutes. Cut the fennel in half, remove the hard core. Keep the green twigs separate. Cut the fennel and celery into small pieces. Peel and chop the onion.
2
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add the fennel, celery, onion and bay leaf and sweat for 5 minutes over medium heat. Dissolve the bouillon cubes in 1 liter of hot water.
3
Pour the warm stock into the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the beets to the pan, remove the bay leaf. Blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Add a little extra water if the soup us too thick.
4
Cut the cucumber, red onion and radishes into small cubes. Chop the green fennel fronds and stir through the cubed vegetables. Grate the zest from orange and mix it through the finely chopped vegetables.
5
Season the soup with salt and pepper.
6
Divide the soup between 2 bowls and sprinkle the cucumber mixture. Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve with dark farmhouse bread.
Toscanini
Toscanini is an institution in Amsterdam. For those of you who may not know it, it's one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.
Bernadette and chef/owner Leonardo Pacenti go back a number of years. At one stage, Bernadette made the desserts for the restaurant for a couple of years.
Leonardo has teamed up with Maud Moody and Nina Bogaerts to bring 'De Bijbel van de Italiaanse Keuken' or The Italian Kitchen Bible to life.
This comprehensive book covers every aspect of the Italian kitchen, the equipment you need, basic ingredients and the essential recipes that everyone who has an interest in Italian cuisine should know.
Go get yourself a copy while sipping on an espresso and getting some food to go from their new location, Magnani, just a few doors down from the main restaurant.