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Beetroot and Cumin Soup with Spiced Yogurt

Glorious to look at and fabulous to eat, hot or cold. The spiced yogurt also makes a delicious dip for raw vegetables. From Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. SERVES 4

50g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 fat clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
750g beetroot, peeled and cut into small chunks
750ml vegetable or chicken stock (or water)
Salt and ground black pepper
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
For the spiced yogurt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 pinch caraway seeds
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper
4 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp olive oil

Set a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil. When the butter is foaming, throw in the onion, garlic and cumin and cook gently for five to 10 minutes, until the onion and garlic are soft but not coloured. Add the beetroot chunks, toss well with the onions, then add the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the beetroot is tender.

Meanwhile, put the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds in a dry frying pan and toast over medium heat until toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a grinder or pestle, and grind to a powder. Combine with the paprika, cayenne and a pinch of salt. Stir a heaped teaspoon of this mixture into the yogurt (keep the rest for use in another recipe - it's great with lamb, for instance), add the olive oil and whisk together.

Purée the soup, return it to the pan and season to taste. If it seems excessively thick, thin it down with a little more stock or water to taste.

Serve the soup, hot or chilled, with a dollop of spiced yogurt swirled in at the last moment and some parsley sprinkled on top.

Lightly Pickled Beetroot and Carrot Salad

Fresh, lively and crunchy, this is more raw than pickled - a world away from the astringent pickled beetroot you buy in a jar. From Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Serves four as a side dish.

200g carrots (two medium ones)
200g beetroot (two medium ones)
2 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper
1 tbsp very good olive oil

Peel the carrots and beetroot, and use your sharpest knife (or, ideally, a mandolin) to cut them into thinnish batons, or thickish matchsticks, around 3-5mm wide. (Don't be tempted to grate them instead - that gives quite a different result.) Toss the batons together.

Sprinkle the cider vinegar and a good seasoning of salt and pepper over the veg, stir, and leave for a couple of hours to allow the vinegar to soften the veg and the flavours to mingle. Add the olive oil, mix again, check the seasoning and serve. This is particularly tasty with fish - smoked mackerel, perhaps, or rollmops, or fishcakes ...

Fresh Beets

From: diestandie@aol.com (DieStanDie)

This is really, really wonderful--it's become a regular while I'm getting fresh beets. The original recipe (from Russ Parsons of the LA Times) called for 3 oranges, sectioned, and 2 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans. I leave those out, because I think it makes the salad too gimmicky.

The vinaigrette is also really, really good on warm, boiled new potatoes, or on a salad of tomatoes and fennel.

6 medium beets with tops
4 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon garlic, pressed or minced fine
2 tbsp. red wine or balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Remove beet tops, scrub, and bake in foil at 350 until done, about 1 hour. Set aside and allow to cool enough to handle. Then peel and slice into 1/4" slices.

Blanch beet tops in boiling water about 1 minute--until the stems just become tender. Cool in running water or plunge into ice water immediately to stop the cooking process. Drain well and chop roughly.

Make dressing: whisk horseradish, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice. Add oil slowly and correct salt and pepper.

Combine dressing with beets (and oranges and pecans, if using)

Beetroot coleslaw

Peel and grate a few raw baby beets and mix with some horseradish sauce and crème fraiche to taste (one teaspoon of horseradish sauce to every desertspoon of crème fraiche, or to taste). Season with salt and pepper.