Healing with food

Passport & Plate - Fresh, Earthy spice- beetroot and turmeric soup

United Kingdom | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients:
For the soup:
3 Medium beetroots
3 Carrots
Approximately 200g new potatoes
3tsp coconut oil
½ tsp cayenne flakes
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic crushed and finely chopped
1 fresh red/green chilli or half of each finely chopped
3cm piece fresh ginger grated
3cm piece fresh turmeric root grated (can be replaced with dried if needed)
Salt to taste
1 ½ tsp coconut palm sugar/ soft brown sugar
For the cabbage:
1 tsp coconut oil
2stp cumin seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 spring cabbage chopped into rough strips
Pinch of salt
For the yoghurt:
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 lime
How to prepare this recipe
Method:
Chop the vegetables to a size that most pleases you, I tend to leave them quite large for a bit of variety in texture, baring in mind that the beetroot take a bit longer to cook so needs to be slightly smaller.

Melt the coconut oil in a heavy bottomed pan on a low- medium heat

Add the cayenne, black pepper and a pinch of salt Cook on a low heat for 2 minutes

Stir in the garlic, chilli, ginger and turmeric cooking still on a low heat for a further 2 minutes

Add the sugar to the pan stirring slowly, give it just a moment to start to melt in but not long enough to burn (less than a minute)

Now add the beetroot, carrot and potato, stir to ensure all the pieces are coated in the oil and spices then add enough boiling water to just cover the vegetables, place the lid on the pan, turn the heat up and cook until the vegetables are tender whilst still maintaining a slight bite (we want to feel the freshness of this dish)
Season with further salt and pepper if necessary

Cabbage

Again melt the coconut oil, a heavy bottomed frying pan or wok is ideal

Cook the cumin and mustard seeds for a couple of minutes or until they start to pop

Add the cabbage and stir to coat in oil, lower the temperature slightly and place a lid on the pan for 2 minutes or until cooked down but still firm to touch.

Yoghurt

Squeeze half the lime into the yoghurt and stir, cut the rest of the lime into slices to serve

To serve place a portion of the soup in a bowl, top with some greens and a generous spoonful of the lime yoghurt, finally place a slice of lime on the side of the plate and eat whilst still hot and hearty. Optional slices of fresh bread and butter.

The story behind this recipe

I don’t have a specific story as such behind this recipe more a combination of feelings and moments. The first version came about when I was in my second year of university, the least stressful and most fun of the three years but not without its own amount of angst and heart ache for which I was in need of a comforting recipe with warmth and a fresh kick to bring me back to life. It helped!

The healing warmth of this recipe has come to good use whilst camping in a cold, wet field one typical English summer, an annual affair bringing together old and new friendships formed upon fleeting but beautiful memories mostly involving food cooked in vast pots over a smoky fire. My turn came to cook for the masses the majority of whom had been out trekking through the wind and rain all day and would be in much need of the warming properties held within this recipe. I still remember the feeling of emotion that I felt gurgling in my stomach and the pride that climbed into my throat as I watched the weary figures arrive back on the field and I could welcome them home to the fire with a warm bowl full of colour and spice.

Growing up I have many memories of hot soups, curries and stews, huge pans of nutritious food for a large and ravenous family gathered noisily around a table which caries our history in its many dents and scratches. The sweet earthyness of the beetroot and carrots takes me back to my half wild childhood in Wales, I must have ingested as many clods of earth as there are scratches in our table, the fresh spices remind me of my nine year old self running across a river bed in northern India to enjoy dinner with hundreds of perfect strangers, united in the simple act of eating.

It is with this merging of memories and with the same sense of care giving through the creative act of cooking that this recipe in a way has been passed down through generations.