One of my favourite restaurants in London has to be Moro. I went there recently for a family Sunday lunch and it didn’t fail to delight! I had a delicious beetroot soup to start and I remembered that I had a bunch of beetroot in the veg box at home and a version of the recipe was in my battered old edition of the Moro Cookbook – #FridayRecipe kismet! I roasted the beetroot first because the flavour is deeper and garnished it with flat leaf parsley as they do in the recipe. On Sunday, they used dill which I think I prefer. The trick is to ensure that with every spoonful of the beetroot soup, you scoop up a little of the yoghurt, the oil and the chopped herb garnish. It’s served warm here but I think it would work well as a chilled soup too as it’s like a kind of beetroot gazpacho. This quantity will serve 6 in small bowls.

• Large bunch of beetroot, peeled, roasted and quartered
• 1 large potato, peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 tablespoons of light olive oil
• A large pinch of Aleppo pepper (adds a mild heat – optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 generous teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon roasted ground cumin seed
• 3 tablespoons of good-quality red wine vinegar
• 1 large handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley or dill
• Black pepper
• Sea salt
• 2 tablespoons of thick greek yoghurt, thin with a little milk and seasoned with crushed garlic paste
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• Cold water

To make...

• Heat the oven to 200°C.
• Place the beetroot coated with a little light olive oil in a roasting tray and roast for half an hour.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the onions with a little salt for about 15 minutes. Add the cumin seeds and the garlic, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Add the diced potato and cook through for another few minutes. Remove the beetroot pieces from the oven and add to the pan.
• Cover with cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook through for about 15 minutes. Using a stick blender, purée the mixture until you have a smooth, velvety soup. Add a little water if it’s too thick. Add the red wine vinegar, ground cumin and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve in small earthenware bowls, drizzle with yoghurt, fruity extra-virgin olive oil and the chopped herbs.

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