Red Cabbage and Beetroot Soup

Bring that festive feeling to your kitchen with this colourful red cabbage and beetroot soup. You can play with the subtle charms of chestnuts and throw a few in this luxurious soup. The combination of red cabbage, vitamin C rich beetroot and sweet and floury chestnut is a total winter winner.

Serves: 4

Prepare: 15 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• ½ red cabbage (about 450g)
• 1 bunch fresh beetroot, peeled
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1000ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp chopped lemon thyme leaves, plus extra to sprinkle
• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 200g Merchant Gourmet whole chestnuts
• 150g plain yogurt
• dill to garnish
• chilli flakes to serve, optional

1. Cut the cabbage in half and discard the core. Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible. Cut the beetroot into small cubes. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the beetroot and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring.

2. Stir in the stock, thyme and caraway seeds, and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and chestnuts, and cook for a further 10 minutes. Briefly blend the soup with a heatproof stick blender to thicken the juices.

3. Season the soup with plenty of black pepper and ladle into bowls. Spoon plenty of yogurt on top and scatter extra dill and chilli flakes to serve. For a more substantial meal, serve with wholegrain rye bread.

Tip: This soup is similar to a classic borscht recipe and can be spiced in a similar way. A generous spoonful of paprika or a finely chopped red chilli will provide more heat.