As the temperatures are dropping in the Northern hemisphere and winter is settling in, it’s the time of the year we start searching for dishes that are going to warm the soul and comfort the body.

There’s nothing like a good hearty soup in the winter time, especially when coming in after a long training ride out in the cold to warm you up again. The other great thing about soup is that you can make big batches in one hit that you can store and will keep you fuelled for a few days.

Beetroot is one of my favourite vegetables to create dishes of all-seasons with, not only for its rich colour and robust earthy flavour but also for it’s amazing health properties. Beetroot is a good source of iron and folate and it also contains nitrates, betaine, magnesium and other antioxidants. Research also suggests that consuming Beetroot has the ability to help boost exercise performance naturally, especially within endurance athletes.

Recently I made this beautiful twist on a traditional roast beetroot soup where beetroot has been combined with light aromatic Thai flavours and then we’ve added in the ‘super grain’ Quinoa to make it a complete dish to hopefully leave you feeling satisfied.

Ingredients

Serves 4

500g raw beetroot, peeled and cut into cubes
1 TBS Olive Oil
4 red Asian shallots, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 lemongrass stalks, white parts only, diced
2 x 3 cm pieces galangal, finely diced
2 thumb-size pieces of ginger, grated
6 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded
½ bunch coriander, stalks and leaves chopped
1 bird’s-eye chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
650ml water
400ml can of coconut milk
½ tsp salt
juice of 1-2 limes
1/2 cup Quinoa (uncooked)
Greek yoghurt and fresh coriander (to serve)

Method

Steam, bake or boil your beetroot until tender. (I steamed mine this time around)
Whilst your beetroot is cooking heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.
Add shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, ginger and kaffir lime leaves to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant.
Next add the coriander, chilli and 650ml of water and then bring to the boil.
Simmer for 30minutes and then strain and discard the solids, this becomes your stock for the soup.
You can cook your quinoa as you wait for the stock to be ready with 1 part quinoa to two parts water, bring to the boil and then reduce to low heat and cover until all of the water has been absorbed and it’s light and fluffy. Take off the heat and put to the side.

Steamed Beetroot ©Tiffany Cromwell

Let the stock simmer for 30 minutes ©Tiffany Cromwell

Strain the stock to get rid of the solids. ©Tiffany Cromwell

Place the stock into a large clean pan with the cooked beetroot and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Transfer to a food processor or use a stick blender to blitz the mixture until smooth.
If you used a food processor then return the mixture to the pan and add the coconut milk and bring the temperature back to a gentle simmer.
Stir through the quinoa.
Add salt and lime juice to taste. (The soup should have a sweet, salty and sour taste)

Combine beetroot and stock in a clean pan ©Tiffany Cromwell

Blitz the mixture until smooth ©Tiffany Cromwell

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve the soup with a dollop of greek yoghurt, a handful of fresh coriander leaves and some cracked pepper, then enjoy!
You can also store the soup into separate containers to have portions ready to go for the next few days.