Beetroot-Shoot Soup (Botwinka) (From Durham Times)

Beetroot-Shoot Soup (Botwinka)

5:25pm Monday 25th June 2012 in Eating In

With Poland in the spotlight as joint host of Euro 2012, we offer some experiences some of its culinary delights

Ingredients

Serves six

Stalks and leaves of 6 beetroots
2 litres (4 pints) meat stock or bouillon (beef or chicken)
1 whole beetroot root
1 clove garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry marjoram
1 tsp lemon juice
6 eggs, hard-boiled
250ml (8fl oz) fresh single pouring cream

Method

For the dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Wash the beetroot leaves and stalks well then pat dry with a paper towel. Chop them into small pieces. The leaves will shrink when cooked, so you will need quite a few. Add the chopped beetroot stalks and leaves to the stock, and simmer until soft, for about 15 minutes.

Grind a clove of garlic with a teaspoon of salt on a wooden board, then add to the soup with a teaspoon of dry marjoram and a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Wash, peel and score the beetroot bulb with grooves. Add to the soup to bring out a wonderful colour. Simmer for a further ten minutes.

Cut the hard-boiled eggs into halves or quarters, then season with salt and pepper.

Leaving the whole beetroot in the pot, ladle the soup into individual bowls and place a good splash of fresh cream in each. Serve hot and garnish with the hard-boiled eggs.