Beetroot and Fennel Soup

Beetroot is starting to become one of my favourite vegetables as it makes such wonderfully coloured dishes. This soup would be ideal for a Halloween dinner.

I came up with this simple recipe to use up the last of this crop of beetroot from my garden and I must say that I am pretty impressed with how it turned out. My husband has announced that it is one of his favourite soups – for him to say that about a vegetable soup is quite amazing.

Ingredients – serves 6:

• 2 tbsp oil, for cooking
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 medium/large beetroots, trimmed, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 potato, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 a fennel bulb, sliced
• 1 and 1/4 litres (5 cups) hot chicken stock, (I used 2 chicken Oxo cubes dissolved in boiling water)
• 2 heaped dessertspoons light sour cream, plus extra to serve
• black pepper, to season
• fennel fronds, to serve

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then cook the fennel seeds and garlic for a minute or until fragrant.
• Add the vegetables to the pan, stir and cook for 5 minutes.
• Pour in the hot stock, stir and bring to the boil.
• Turn the temperature down and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
• Carefully blitz the soup in the pan with a stick blender until it is smooth.
• Stir in the sour cream and season with black pepper.
• Serve topped with a extra dollop of sour cream and a couple of fennel fronds.
• Enjoy!