food to glow

This soup is unfeasibly red and tasty, and sublimely easy to make too. You can prepare it as per a usual soup, or you can make a raw version blended up to velvety smoothness in a high-speed blender. Instructions are given for both. Oh, and if your vegetables are organic just give them a good scrub and keep the peel – too many lovely goodies are in the skin to let them go to waste.

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp fennel seeds

2 tbsp cooking rapeseed oil or cooking olive oil*

500g fresh beetroot (about 3 medium beets), well-scrubbed, trimmed, and grated (I use the coarse grating plate on my Magimix food processor)

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots OR sweet potato, scrubbed and diced

3 large tomatoes or about 300g-worth, roughly chopped

1 heaped tbsp tomato puree or paste (optional but boosts the lycopene content a smidge)

750ml low-sodium vegetable stock OR water

Seasoning as required (shouldn’t be necessary with a well-flavoured stock and seasonal veg)

1. Dry toast the seeds until just fragrant (careful, as the cumin burns easily). Pop the seeds into a mortar and crush with the pestle – or use a spice/coffee grinder. If you have a powerful blender, you can skip this crushing step.

2. Heat the oil gently in a large pan. Add the grated/chopped vegetables – except the tomatoes – and stir. Let the vegetables cook down a little and develop some of their natural sugars – about five minutes. Add the crushed spices, tomatoes, and pour over the stock. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Let everything bubble away with a lid half-cocked for 20 minutes, or until all the veg are perfectly soft but not turned to mush.

3. Transfer in batches to a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary – maybe a little sharpness from a dash of vinegar if the vegetables are very sweet; maybe some pepper too.

Raw Food Version: To make this a raw soup in a high-speed blender, use 4 raw spring onions and have the vegetables pretty evenly diced to enhance blending speed. No need to use oil. Add all ingredients bar the stock/water to the blender then pour in enough warm stock or room temp water to make a loose puree. Slowly add the rest of the stock through the access hole in the lid. Blend until very warm – about four minutes. For added flavour, luxury and nutrition, serve this vividly hued soup drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil, or even warmed coconut oil. Good fats help absorb the fat-soluble phytonutrients, like lycopene.

Note: for extra oomph roast both the tomatoes and beets beforehand.

PS The crackers you see in the shots are these.

* I recommend using non-virgin – but still high in quality – oil rather than extra-virgin as these are more stable at higher temperatures. Save the good stuff for drizzling and where you will really taste it.