Kate’s beetroot soup

Kate Smart

This recipe was given to my mother by Kate Smart (née Thornton), who with her husband Alastair farmed a small run of Jersey cows in Shipmeadow in the late 1950s. They produced the most wonderful thick, rich cream, which featured significantly in Kate’s cooking. We lived just across the valley at the time, and were frequent visitors to the farm.

Serves 4. Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Borscht by any other name…

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 large beetroot
  • 1½ oz butter
  • 1 tsp celery salt
  • 1 oz flour
  • 1½ pt water
  • 2 chicken stock cubes
  • ¼ pt cream
  • salt
  • pepper

Method

  1. Chop onion and beetroot

  2. Simmer covered in the butter 10-15 min

  3. Add celery salt and flour

  4. Cook but do not brown

  5. Add water and stock cube

  6. Boil gently 30 min

  7. Serve with the cream

I haven't edited this: it’s how Kate wrote it down. In the Ukraine or Russia, the cream would be sour cream, but Kate’s was of course double Jersey. You can add celery salt and pepper to your own taste.