Scented Beetroot Soup

We're in for a treat this week with a well deserved Indian summer so that gives us the perfect excuse to show off Marise's exquisite soup. As always she has the patience (unlike me!) to experiment with wonderful flavour combinations that make your taste buds tingle and this recipe is no exception to the rule. ... furthermore it uses one of our favourite vegetables. We think it would also make a superb starter when entertaining over Christmas because it's so light and fresh.

Ingredients

500g raw beetroot (scrubbed if dirty) peeled and diced
1 medium red onion (root on) halved through the root
2 whole, large star anise
600ml boiling water
2 rounded tsp low salt vegetable stock powder (use less if full salt)
1 grapefruit, juice only (about 100ml)
To serve
Spoonful light cream cheese and a little milk to make it 'flow' , or double cream

Serves 4

Method

Put the beetroot and red onion into a paln. Tie the star anise in muslin or use an empty bouquet garni bag. Add this to the pan with the boiling water and bring to the boil. Stir in the stock powder, cover and simmer very very gently for about an hour until the beetroot is tender. Then make sure you let it cook for about 30 minutes and take out the star anise so that the flavour remains subtle.

Next remove the onion, pressing as much liquid from it as possible (then discard). Strain the beetroot through a sieve, reserving the liquid and the beetroot pulp. Measure the liquid and make back up to 400ml with water if necessary.

Then put in a liquidizer along with 200g of the cooked beetroot. Keep the remaining beetroot for a salad or dip (try mixing with equal amounts yoghurt and French dressing with some oregano - nice!)

Finally add the grapefruit juice and whizz until the soup is smooth. Often best with citrus to keep some juice back and taste until you get the flavour you want. The end result should be a little tart with a hint of background grapefruit.

Serve hot or chilled depending on time of year (or what you fancy!)

Smoky Black Bean Quesadilla

So proper Mexican cooking has finally hit the UK -  much to our delight! We love the colours and the combo of simple ingredients - beans, herbs, squash or sweet potato, corn, garlic and chillies, with an excuse for avocado as a garnish. I have to admit that quesadillas are a little bit Tex-Mex but you know what ... they are a great quick and easy, store cupboard standby for dinner in a dash or something a bit different for a vegetarian lunch.

Most 'Mexican Toasties' as I like to call them are loaded with hard cheese - and of course this is fine for flavour, but I rather like using goats cheese instead. It's higher in vitamin A and short chain fatty acids (good for your gut!) and lower in saturated fats so you can class this as a truly healthy meal!

Ingredients

1 large (or 2 small)  sweet potato (approx 200g)

75g black beans, drained (pinto will do)

2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped

½ fresh lime, juice only

¼ small red onion, thinly sliced

½ red pepper, finely diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 green chile, finely chopped (use a spoon to scrape out seeds if necessary)

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cumin

1½ tsp hot smoked paprika

75g sweet corn (blanched)

75g soft goats cheese

2  x 10” multi-seed wraps (please don't use own brand - they are soooo rubbery)

To serve

1 small avocado mashed with 1 tbsp lime juice

50ml plain yoghurt (or sour cream if you prefer)

Serves 2 for supper

Method

Hey ....I know it looks like a lot of ingredients but it's mainly spices which you should by now have stocked up on if you're testing our recipes! First of all bake the sweet potato(es) for 30 minutes until soft (gas 6 or 200C). Scoop the flesh out into a bowl and season.

Then mix the beans, lime juice, coriander and onion together. You should be able to find black (turtle) beans in tetrapaks or cans now - yes even in UK supermarkets.

In a large frying pan sauté the pepper for 10 minutes until soft (the colour isn't vital, it's more for texture). Add the chilli, garlic and spices and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the sweet corn making sure everything is well coated with the pepper and spice mixture. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Take one wrap and spread the sweet potato mixture onto the base, leaving a small border around the edge. Place the vegetable mixture on top and then the beans and onion. Finally scatter over the cheese (using a teaspoon if necessary) and cover the filling with the second wrap so you have a ‘toastie’.

To cook either place on a baking tray, brush with oil, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes turning once. Or using a large frying pan, fry lightly with 1 tsp oil on both sides (if you have a steady hand this is my favourite method). Serve hot.