A delicious starter recipe of roasted beetroot, garlic and onion soup served with garlic and thyme toasts.
Ain’t this just the most gorgeous vegetable? Not only does it produce a stunning purple magenta colour when used in cooking, it is also low in fat – full of vitamins and minerals and packed with antioxidants.
I think that is enough reason to incorporated this humble ingredient into our daily diets, don’t you think?
I had a bunch of beetroot in the fridge I had to use up, so I decided to create a chilled soup, made with blending roasted beetroot, onion and garlic in a food processor after which the whole shebang ended up in a sieve to get the silky smooth consistency I desired.
Served with these amazingly flavors, some garlic and thyme toasts – which will be the death of me – this recipe is perfect as a starter – if you need some entertaining inspiration.
Ingredients
- 5 medium sized beets
- 1 whole garlic, peeled and tops removed
- 1 red onion, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 15 ml olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 french loaf
- 2 tablespoons crushed garlic
- 4 tablespoons butter
- a few fresh sprigs of thyme
Directions
- 1In an oven safe baking dish, arrange the beets, garlic and red onion.
- 2Drizzle with olive oil and roast covered for 1 hour at 180 degrees Celsius. Leave to cool slightly.
- 3Gently peel the skin off the roasted beets and transfer the flesh to a food processor.
- 4Press the roasted garlic cloves in there too, and add the roasted onion.
- 5Add the vinegar and blend until smooth.
- 6If you wish, transfer the soup to a sieve to leave the fibre-ey pieces behind.
- 7Add seasoning to taste.
- 8For the toasts, simply cut the bread into slices, and spread with garlic and butter. Add thyme leaves on top and grill until toasted.
