cucumber

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.

by Bernadette Evers