Beetroot and horseradish soup..
It’s September, and of all the foods that are now in season (from apples and pears to blackberries and damsons (oh, damson gin…) I think beetroot is my favourite. Roasted, pickled, or made into a luscious soup, it’s just fabulous.
As the days start to cool, a warming bowl of soup is a Saturday favourite. Here’s my easy-as-can-be beetroot soup recipe, warmed with a dash of horseradish for extra zing.
Ingredients
For the soup:
One big bunch of fresh beetroot, stems cut off and scrubbed clean. OR – you can buy beetroot already peeled and cooked, which saves the risk of dying half your kitchen pink.
One medium onion, diced
25g butter, or a splash or sunflower oil
500ml vegetable stock (or chicken if you prefer)
2 tablespoons horseradish sauce
Salt and pepper for seasoning
To serve:
Soft goats cheese or some creme fraiche, or indeed both!
Slices of fresh bread, toasted and buttered
Method
First, cook your beetroot. Trim the stems and scrub the beets, then place them in a pan of cold water and bring it to a boil, then turn down to simmer for about 20 mins, till you can stick a knife in them. Then lift them out of the hot water and place them in a large bowl. The skins should easily slip off at this point, using your hands or kitchen roll. Do take care. The juice will turn anything it touches pink – I use rubber gloves and make sure I am well wrapped in an apron, I ruined a shirt the first time I did this! Once they are peeled, roughly chop them to 2cm-ish chunks.
While your beetroot is cooking, very slowly fry your onions, in a deep saucepan, till they’re pale golden and translucent.
Add your chopped beetroot and stir, then pour in your hot stock and stir.
Allow it all to simmer for a few minutes, then remove from the heat and either use a stick blender or pour into a food processor and whizz it all up till you get a smooth soup.
Now, add your horseradish. Warning – not all horseradish is created equal. Some will have a kick to it that can overwhelm the more subtle beetroot, so go carefully and add a teaspoon at a time, give it a stir and a couple of minutes to penetrate the soup and taste, adding more until you’re happy.
Finally, season your soup to taste. It may not need a great deal, with the stock and the horseradish, but I find a little extra salt really lifts the flavours.
Beetroot soup goes incredibly well with a soft goats cheese spread on freshly toasted baguette. When you dip the toast and goats cheese into the soup the colours are amazing, too, making the whole experience fully sensory.
We often buy those part-baked bread rolls, and serve these, hot and crispy, with the soup – they’re amazingly spread with salted butter and soft goats cheese. We also like those beetroot or parsnip crisps as a salty accompaniment!
Seasonal cooking is not only great for your purse, but it’s great for the environment and for British farmers, who are having a pretty tough time of it at the moment, with challenges from the very dry summer we have had.
If beetroot doesn’t appeal (and please try before you deny!) then seek out other British produce currently in season – Bramley apples for pies and crumbles, or a marvellous parsnip and apple soup – courgettes, pears and plums are all starting to fill the supermarket shelves and if you like the idea of sustainable cooking, with fresh, British-grown ingredients, there are loads of easy recipes out there to make the most of them.
Eddie – Friday 5th September 2025.
