If you’re wondering what’s for dinner (and breakfast or lunch the next day), you can pause for a bit right here. Why not a colourful, fibre-rich, gut loving and comforting bowl of soup? One of my favourite this time of the year: a borscht-inspired soup that is easy to make and utterly forgiving ingredients-wise. Also, adjust the amounts as you need to (I am cooking for three hungry men in our household, so there’s that).
Ingredients:
1 medium size onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 carrots diced
4 red potatoes, cubed
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 beets, peeled and grated
Spiced: 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1/2 tbsp paprika, pepper to taste.
Method: Heat up a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a pot and saute the onion for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute, then add the spices and cook lightly until fragrant (up to a minute). In goes celery, peppers and carrots, and the can of diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then add potatoes and 1.5L of water (less if you’re making two or four portions). Pro tip: I heat up water in the electric kettle to speed things up.
Cook on the stove for 20-30 minutes or in the slow cooker for 2 hours or until carrots and potatoes are thoroughly cooked and soft. Add grated beets and cook for 10 extra minutes, then add herbs of choice (mine was tarragon) and enjoy with some nice crusty sourdough.
