Courgette, Beetroot and Mint soup
I am a huge lover of soups. I love them thick with chunks, warm crusty bread and steaming hot, no matter how hot or cold it might be outside. Saying that, we went to Tenerife on holiday a few years ago, and I had my first experience of gazpacho and it was also divine.
I chose to do this particular soup because it was a great excuse to use up a quarter of the millions of courgettes we have managed to cultivate from the allotment, and empty out the freezer of left over stocks from Christmas. With regards to the beetroot, I use to hate it. I was born in Italy and my first experience of beetroot was when we moved to England, and my very first English school lunch… I believe they were pickled. But, roasted or lightly blanched and thrown into a goat’s cheese salad, it is divine. This soup isn’t technically meant to have beetroot in it, it’s in fact meant to be courgette and mint, but as I said, we had to use things up!
Ingredients:
- Two large courgettes (I realise that if they are large they tend to come under the status of marrow but I still think of them as courgette!)
- One large beetroot (Be aware that no matter how many things you add into this soup, it will come out pink!)
- One large red onion
- Left over stock (the amount you use is up to you, I used roughly two pints and made enough soup to put into the freezer for the coming months)
- Any left over vegetables
- Large handful of mint *
With this soup, I just chucked it into a large pan, on a low heat and left it to do its own thing for about two hours; this means that you could prepare it in the morning and come back at lunch, serve it up and enjoy!
*As you can see from the pictures, I made a lot of soup. If you only want to do this for lunch, I would recommend using a quarter of the ingredients listed. If you have any queries, just leave a comment and I can help!
This post has been written and edited by Emma Faraone of Laboro Marketing Solutions http://www.laboromarketingsolutions.com
Getting Down and Dirty in Your Allotment 