30-Minute Vegetarian. Rose Elliot

       Chilled Beetroot Soup with Horseradish Cream

      One of my all-time favourite soups: I just love the brilliant colour, the sweet-salty balance of the beetroot and seasoning, the little sour hint of lemon, the spiciness of the black pepper … and for me, it has to be chilled. So that means dicing the vegetables small so they cook quickly, in the minimum amount of water, then cooling the soup rapidly with icy water, in order to get it done in 30 minutes. That’s perfectly possible, and it’s delicious with its swirl of peppery horseradish cream and cooling green dill leaves.

      Serves 4

      700ml (1¼ pints) water, put in the freezer or fridge to chill

      700g (1½lb) cooked beetroot (without vinegar), roughly diced, chilled in a large bowl in the fridge

      1 large onion, finely chopped

      1 large potato, peeled and cut into tiny dice: not more than 5mm (¼in)

      1 tbsp olive oil

      500ml (18fl oz) boiling water

      Zest and juice of ½ lemon

      Salt and black pepper

      A few sprigs of fresh dill, to serve

      For the horseradish cream

      6 tbsp single cream

      1–2 tbsp horseradish sauce or relish from a jar

      1. Put the water and beetroot in the fridge to chill. It’s a good idea to put soup bowls into the fridge at the same time; the cooler everything is, the faster the soup can be made.

      2. Fry the onion and potato in the oil in a large saucepan, without browning, for 7–10 minutes.

      3. Add the boiling water and lemon zest, and leave to simmer over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes, or until the potato and onions are completely soft.

      4. While this is happening, mix the cream with enough of the horseradish cream or relish to give a nice kick; set aside.

      5. Tip the potato and onion mixture into the chilled bowl of beetroot from the fridge and process with a hand-held blender until silky smooth. Stir in the icy water from the freezer or fridge, then add about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

      6. To serve, ladle the soup into chilled bowls, swirl with the horseradish cream and finish with some fresh dill.

      Make it vegan: Use soya cream and non-dairy horseradish relish.