I often hear people say that they would love to prepare 100% vegetable meals at home, but that they don’t do it due to lack of time. It’s especially for them —for us, after all, you’ve probably felt the clock running against your desire to change your habits, just like me— that I present today a healthy and beyond-practical recipe for hot nights. Secret: this soup goes well on cold nights too!
Soup is often discounted as a starter, or even neglected, as if it were nothing more than a cluster of vegetables thrown into a pot at random and cooked to the point of gruel. But our beetroot soup with coconut milk escapes the monotony. From the vibrant color to the ginger pungency, nothing puts us at risk of serving a bland soup when following this recipe.
I am a great-granddaughter of Poles and my inspiration was borsch, a hearty soup typical of many Eastern European countries. The presence of vinegar in the soup is thus justified and balances the sweetness of the beetroot and coconut milk. For obvious reasons —and to my grandmother’s sadness, who is not happy with my adaptations to traditional recipes—, I left the meat out of the pot, but I must say that my family’s recipe uses very little meat, which is almost used as a seasoning, not as the central ingredient of the dish. What really thickens the broth are the vegetables, much cheaper and more abundant in post-war Europe.
Coriander seeds are not included in the original recipe, nor are coconut milk and ginger, but they are ingredients that deepen the flavors, either due to the aromatic profile or the presence of fat.
I’m already hearing someone ask: “but can I make it without the coriander seeds?”. He can! My suggestion is to replace it with coriander stalks, finely chopped —the flavor is closer to the flavor of the seeds than the leaves, which can be used to decorate the dish. Don’t like cilantro? Try it with parsley!
To turn this soup into a complete meal, the tip is to accompany it with bread and some protein paste, like hummus. All I ask is that you don’t tell my grandmother that I suggested a borsch with bread and chickpea paste, please.
BEET SOUP with COCONUT MILK
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 750 ml
SOUP INGREDIENTS
500 g cooked beetroot
5 small radishes
¼ red onion
1 piece of 3 cm fresh ginger, peeled
400 ml of coconut milk
300 ml of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon coriander seeds (or 2 tablespoons chopped coriander stalks)
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
FINISHING INGREDIENTS
Coconut milk, coconut chips, radish slices and coriander leaves
PREPARATION
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Peel the onion and cut it into rustic cubes. Transfer to the blender.
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Wash the radishes well and cut into small pieces. Transfer to the blender.
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Cut the boiled beets and transfer to the blender. Also add the fresh ginger, coconut milk, water, salt and coriander seeds or stalks. Beat on low speed until all ingredients are blended, then increase to high speed and beat for two minutes. Remove the lid from the blender, add the vinegar and blend for 5 seconds, just long enough for the vinegar to be incorporated.
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Book in the fridge for 2 hours and mix well before serving. Garnish with sliced radishes, coconut milk, coconut chips and coriander leaves.
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