Recipe: Autumnal Beetroot soup with roasted Sweet Potato

It's a monday evening and i've had the day off, much to my dismay I haven't actually done anything productive but lay in bed, catch up on some well needed sleep and watch the last episode of the Netflix original series, Hemlock Grove. (I guess that's kind of productive) It's not exactly a cold day but I can feel a chill coming in, the fact that I have my bedroom windows open doesn't help, but on my face I have a warming smile.

Anyone that knows me can tell you that my favourite seasons are Autumn and Winter, there's something comforting about a mass of leaves changing from a dark green to the orange colour of the flames that reside in the fireplace of my family home. Today is an autumn day. 

It's just me and my little sister at home and everyone else is finishing work late, I've decided to be a domestic goddess and treat my family to a home cooked meal. 

I can hear the low hum of the T.V in the background and before I even start chopping, slicing and grating a cup of tea is required. In my special cupboard where I keep all my culinary things I find a box of my new favourite tea, the kettle is quickly switched on and the oven is set to preheat. 

So I start on the garlic and begin to chop it roughly, love the taste of the stuff but I absoltley hate touching it. I can already tell that this is going to be a very messy kitchen by the time i'm done, I know prepping the beetroot is going to be a nightmare, and i'm very careful not to stain my mum's favourite chopping board so I enlist the help of the stainless steel counter top.

The kitchen's quite manic now and it's only me in it, the temperature is rising and my anxiety is kicking in, it's the feeling that I can't breathe that sets it off, I think i've took too much on but it's too late now, i'm already in the middle of it. 

I step outside, take a deep breath in and come back and turn the extractor on. The whirlwind sound is calming and once again I fall back into the pattern where I feel like i've gained control and can begin again. 

I keep telling myself "It's worth it!", I can do it. 

While I was having my little hissy fit, I kind of forgot about my onions and they may have crisped up a little. "It's alright, no one will even notice."

I'm back on track. At least thats what I thought. I forgot to put the Maggi cube into the tomatoes. They've only been in for about 15 mins so it doesn't really matter so I quickly whip them out and get a face full of steam that fog up my glasses.

I can only smile and laugh, it was quite funny.

A cup of green tea later, the beetroot, onions and stock are simmering and the tomatoes and potatoes are getting perfect in the oven. I think I can breathe now, speaking too soon the smell of the sweet potatoes hits my nose and i'm just certain they are ready, I open the oven, more cautious this time to find that both the tomatoes and potatoes have roasted just in time. I reach for a fork and pierce the potatoes making sure they are cooked through and by accident a couple end up in my mouth.

*Cool dance around the kitchen*

I'm happy, everything has come together and it doesn't look to shabby if I do say so myself.

Why don't you have a go? I promise it's not that hard and it actually feels quite rewarding.

I challenge you to try it, don't be frightened by the beetroot.

I generally cook quite loose handed and don't always stick to the measurements given in a recipe so use however much you think would be nice for you. Don't forget to keep tasting until you achieve a flavour that you like. 

I also used raw beetroot but i'm you can use the cooked packaged ones to achieve the same flavour, it might even have a smoother consistency because the beetroot is already cooked through.

Recipe:

• About 500-600g of ripe tomatoes, any you can get your hands on, they need to be quartered
• About 500g of beetroot, which is around 4 bunches, chopped into small cubes
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons of vegetable/sunflower oil
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
• 3 maggi cubes
• 1 large sweet potato, chopped into bite size cubes
• About 10-15 ml of water
• A knob of butter

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200C.
• Place the quartered tomatoes in a ovenproof dish and sprinkle the garlic, a Maggi cube and a 2 tablespoons of the onion as well as 2 tablespoons of the oil until all the tomatoes are even coated. Add more oil if required. 
• Add the potatoes in a ovenproof dish with the water so that the water evenly coats the base of the dish.
• After 15 mins of roasting, turn the potatoes and add half the knob of butter, making sure it even coats each cube. Cook for a further 15 mins and add the rest of the butter so that the potatoes crisp and brown up. 
• Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 30 minutes or until they are soft.  
• Heat the rest of the onion in a deep saucepan and cook until they are soft and translucent. Add the 2 remaining Maggi cubes and cook for a further 5 mins.
• Add the cubed beetroot and the stock and bring to the boil.
• Reduce the heat after five minutes of boiling so that it reaches a simmer and cook for 20-15mins until the beetroot is soft.
• Add the tomato and garlic mix into the sauce pan and cook for a further 5 mins.
• Take off the heat and blend the soup until it is smooth.
• Serve hot.

Enjoy! 

x

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