I really can’t get enough beetroot at the moment. We’ve harvested so much over the summer and I still have about 30 growing away nicely on the allotment. I’ve roasted it, eaten it raw, mashed it, boiled it and pickled it. We’ve even put it in chocolate truffles which were very lovely I might add. One thing I have done differently this year is keep and eat the greens.
Beetroot greens boost the nutritional value of any dish
Admittedly I’ve had much cleaner greens that haven’t been eaten by our little bug friends at the allotment so they have looked a lot more appetising. If you are going to save the leaves, you really need to use them up on the day you take them off the beetroot as they will go limp very quickly.
Easy to toss them raw into soup
Incorporating them into salads and curries has been easy. They turn red lentil dhal a wonderful tinge of pink. I blitz them in at the end of cooking. Then they retain their nutritional value but lose a little of the bitterness.
Beetroot works incredibly well with cumin. I first had this combination at Duck Soup in Soho and have been hooked ever since. I decided to try it with coconut. It was a great mix. Earthy beetroot and creamy coconut are a perfect autumnal pairing. I added lots of cumin because ayurvedically it’s a ‘warming’ spice and so that gives an extra internal glow. I also topped the soup with crispy fried onions instead of croutons which gave a lovely balance of textures.
Beetroot, Cumin and Coconut Soup With Fried Onions
Servings: 4
Notes
You'll need
- 1 large onion - mine was about the size of a tennis ball3 tbsp olive oil
- 5 tbsp sunflower oil
- 4 medium beetroots with their leaves - I allowed one beetroot per person
- 3 heaped tsp ground cumin
- 5-6 fresh curry leaves
- 1 tsp small black mustard seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp salt - it sounds like a lot but you need it for the beetroot
- 3 tsp coriander and cumin powder (called dhana jeeru in Indian grocers)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder or use about a 1 inch stick of fresh turmeric finely crushed
- 2-3 tsp red chilli flakes
To make it
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Chop the onion into thin slices and pop them into a frying pan with 3 tbsp of the sunflower oil. Leave them to fry off and brown on a very low heat.
- Meanwhile, take the leaves off the beetroots, wash and set aside.
- Scrub the beetroot - skin on and then cut it into large chunks and place them on a roasting tray. I know where my beetroot is from and the skins are quite thin so if you prefer you can peel it before roasting.
- Pour over the olive oil and then toss them lightly so each chunk is well coated.
- Sprinkle over the ground cumin and roast for about 20 minutes til soft.
- While it is roasting, prepare the coconut broth.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and add in a few mustard seeds.
- When the seeds start to fizzle and pop, add the rest of the mustard seeds, the cumin seeds and the curry leaves in quick succession. Be careful as they may spit at you.
- Pour in the tin of coconut milk.
- Fill the tin up half way with water, give it a slosh and pour that in too.
- Add the salt, coriander and cumin powder, turmeric and chilli flakes and leave the broth to simmer on a medium heat for about 15 minutes.
- Take the soup off the heat, add the roasted beetroot, beetroot leaves and blitz. I used my Froothie because the jug tolerates high temperatures really well and gets the soup to a really fine consistency.
- Check for salt and cumin seasoning and add more if you wish.
- Your onions should be nicely browned by this point. so pour the soup into your serving bowls and then evenly split the onions over each one.
How do you eat your beetroot greens?
Related articles
- All That Bloody Beetroot! (botanicalkitchen.wordpress.com)
- Simple Beetroot Soup (feedingboys.co.uk)
- Beet Tops and Courgette Tarts (kelliesfoodtoglow.com)
- Beetroot Gazpacho Soup (smarterfitter.com)
- Beetroot and Horseradish Soup (circusgardener.com)
- My Beetroot Pinterest Board
Beetroot, Cumin and Coconut Soup With Fried Onions
Notes
You'll need
- 1 large onion - mine was about the size of a tennis ball3 tbsp olive oil
- 5 tbsp sunflower oil
- 4 medium beetroots with their leaves - I allowed one beetroot per person
- 3 heaped tsp ground cumin
- 5-6 fresh curry leaves
- 1 tsp small black mustard seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp salt - it sounds like a lot but you need it for the beetroot
- 3 tsp coriander and cumin powder (called dhana jeeru in Indian grocers)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder or use about a 1 inch stick of fresh turmeric finely crushed
- 2-3 tsp red chilli flakes
To make it
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Chop the onion into thin slices and pop them into a frying pan with 3 tbsp of the sunflower oil. Leave them to fry off and brown on a very low heat.
- Meanwhile, take the leaves off the beetroots, wash and set aside.
- Scrub the beetroot - skin on and then cut it into large chunks and place them on a roasting tray. I know where my beetroot is from and the skins are quite thin so if you prefer you can peel it before roasting.
- Pour over the olive oil and then toss them lightly so each chunk is well coated.
- Sprinkle over the ground cumin and roast for about 20 minutes til soft.
- While it is roasting, prepare the coconut broth.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and add in a few mustard seeds.
- When the seeds start to fizzle and pop, add the rest of the mustard seeds, the cumin seeds and the curry leaves in quick succession. Be careful as they may spit at you.
- Pour in the tin of coconut milk.
- Fill the tin up half way with water, give it a slosh and pour that in too.
- Add the salt, coriander and cumin powder, turmeric and chilli flakes and leave the broth to simmer on a medium heat for about 15 minutes.
- Take the soup off the heat, add the roasted beetroot, beetroot leaves and blitz. I used my Froothie because the jug tolerates high temperatures really well and gets the soup to a really fine consistency.
- Check for salt and cumin seasoning and add more if you wish.
- Your onions should be nicely browned by this point. so pour the soup into your serving bowls and then evenly split the onions over each one.
I love beetroot with cumin too and also have a soup with it (and fennel seeds), but I don’t use the greens, nor creamy nutty coconut. Lush one, Urvashi! A perfect soup for the froothie. And thank you for linking to my beet tops and courgette tartlets. 🙂
I love your tartlettes. Must make those soon soon. They’d go well with a shot of this soup on the side.
Your soup looks and sounds beautiful, and I love the idea of putting crispy onions on top.
Thank you. The crispy opions are my favourite part!
Oh, this sounds delicious. I love cumin but I don’t think I’ve ever had it with beetroot before – this will be lovely!
Thank you. It’s a very very good combo. Really will get you hooked and so quick to make the hummus in the froothie too
love the subtle Indian spicing you have used here – and crispy onions are a great garnish. very pretty colour!
Thanks Nazima. I don’t normally do the fusion thing but the cumin works really well.
Oh my that soups looks amazing – loving the combo beetroot cumin and coconut!
Second post I’ve read mentioning the Froothie blender – I want one!!
Thanks Jan. Yes the Froothie is a working mum’s godsend. So quick to use for weekday speedy meals
The Froothie is just brilliant and I have made tons of soups in mine. It is incredibly smooth and like you say, a lifesaver! I love the flavours of this soup and the photos are beautiful 🙂
Thanks Laura 🙂
What a gorgeous recipe. I misread the title as ‘let’s not overcook’ …hear, hear I thought. No more soggy greens… 🙂
Ha Ha! I did have some rather soggy greens at work today. Bleurgh indeed
Such a beautiful looking soup. I adore beetroot and this year have been making the most of the tops too. They’re lovely simply wilted in a little olive oil, chilli and garlic 🙂
Thank you and Oh yes I love the idea of them with chilli oil
I only recently found out that beet greens are one of the most powerful superfoods. I’ve never had the pleasure of cooking with them. I suppose that’s where growing your own comes in handy. Lovely looking soup Urvashi and I like the onions on top.
It’s really hard to buy them from anywhere except farmers markets which is a shame as they are so healthy. Challenge is the leaves wilt as soon as you cut them off