Beetroot and Ginger Love Soup

By Aileen Cox Blundell

Have you ever looked at a vegetable and thought what on earth am I going to do with that? Let me tell you that beetroot used to be that vegetable for me.  I grew up in a house where my mother boiled and pickled her own and I just hated the farty smell that wafted through the house. I always loved it once the pickling process had happened, chopped over salads or just straight from the jar with a fork in hand. My mother would rave about it’s health benefits and told me the reason I had lovely skin was because of all the beetroot I ate.

When I started weaning Oscar my Dad gave me about 20 beets, fresh dug, covered in muck and so my obsession began. Beetroot is exceptionally nutritious and are rich in iron, calcium and vitamins so I was determined to give my baby a taste of them early on. I made everything from beetroot hummus to beetroot pesto to beetroot chocolate muffins and he loved every one. Be warned though, get yourself a good cover all bib as beetroot does stain although it washes off faces and hands really easily.

The colours in the soup just look amazing, in fact I’m thinking of making prints of these for my kitchen because I love it so much. Colour is healthy and eating a wide varied colourful diet keeps us all packed with goodness. For little babies every bite counts so that broccoli, thyme and ginger really just add a little more healthy punch to this soup. When cooking the trick is not to overcook so that you lock all the goodness in rather than boiling away. I took it off the heat after about 15 minutes when the beetroot was just al dente and the broccoli still had a little bite, then blended up until it was really creamy.

To serve I used a little yogurt, some extra thyme and bread from our local baker and cut into little hearts, brushed over a little olive oil and baked for about 8 minutes until they turn into crispy croutons. I’d love to say this was my own idea but I got it from my lovely Mother who did it for my Dad on Valentines Day when I was a child. I always remember thinking it was so super cute and romantic … those two love birds 🙂

Valentines Day may just be a Hallmark holiday but I still love what it symbolises. Expressing love for someone special, whether that be a child, a husband or a friend. I know that should be done all year round but on this one day I get great enjoyment from making heart filled soup and getting extra snuggles in return.

So happy Valentines Day to all you lovely Mothers, Fathers and Babies. I hope you get a billion extra kisses.

Lots’ of love,

Aileen & her Valentine Oscar xoxox

(p.s….wear a bib!)

Beetroot and Ginger Love Soup

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Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 10 minutes minutes

Total: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 adults + children

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This deliciously creamy, hearty 'love' soup will fill you and your baby with nourishing goodness. It is perfect as a sippy cup blw recipe and really yum!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red onion
• 6 cloves garlic
• 10 g fresh root ginger
• 1 small head broccoli
• 2 medium raw beetroot roughly around 600g
• 800 ml Homemade stock* chicken/turkey/vegetable (see note below)
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large sprig fresh thyme
• Yogurt and bread to serve

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Method

• Roughly chop the onion, then heat oil in a large saucepan and gently fry over a low heat until they become sticky and sweet. This takes about 8-10 minutes.Roughly chop the garlic and ginger then add to the saucepan and cook for a further 2 minutes making sure not to burn the garlic.Tear apart the broccoli add to the pan then wash and roughly chop the beetroot and stir both of them into the onion mixture.Pour in the stock, coconut milk then add the bay leaf and thyme leaves.Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes. The beetroot should be al dente (so still have a little bite to it).Blitz up using a stick blender or liquidiser until it is smooth and creamy pink.To Serve; garnish with  a little fresh yogurt and homemade bread croutons*.
• Note: to make crouton hearts – cut bread into heart shapes. Brush a little olive oil over each side then bake for 3-4 minutes until they are a little crispy. This helps them stay on the top of the soup. They also will get soft after a few minutes for little mouths.

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Recipe Notes & Tips

Making stock is one of the easiest things you can do. Just cover the leftovers from a chicken (bones and all) with water. Add a few carrots and an onion roughly chopped, a bay leaf. Bring to the boil then simmer for a few hours. The longer the better especially if you have an organic chicken or turkey. For this recipe I used stock I had from our christmas turkey which I froze into portions. It was super thick so I used 1/2 stock and 1/2 water.

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