Beetroot soup

Beetroot (甜菜根) is a new vegetable to me. I only started eating beetroot 2 years ago after my good friend, Alice from Bits of Taste n Life introduced it to me. I didn’t know that there are so many great benefits eating beetroot until I read about it from here and here. The benefits of beetroot are:
a) it is a rich source of carbohydrates, a good source of protein, and has high levels of important vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.
b) it is an excellent source of folic acid and is therefore recommended to women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
c) Betalins, obtained from the roots, are a type of antioxidant found in beetroot in fairly large quantities. You don’t need to eat much beetroot to take in a beneficial amount of betalin. Betalins are used industrially as red food colourants, e.g. to improve the colour of tomato paste, sauces, desserts, jams and jellies, ice cream, sweets and breakfast cereals.
d) it is a good source of potassium and magnesium.
e) it contains soluble fibre, which can help reduce blood cholesterol.
f) it also contains ‘carotenoids’ and ‘flavonoids’, which help prevent LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol from being oxidised and deposited in the arteries.
g) cooked beetroot is a great source of folate that can protect you against high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s and dementia. It is also crucial to the development of a baby’s spinal cord during the first three months of pregnancy, so a good intake of folate is important to prevent spinal cord defects such as spina bifida.
h) it is virtually fat free and low in calories. Although it has a ‘medium’ GI (Glycaemic Index) of 64, it has an extremely low GL (Glycaemic Load) of 2.9 which means it’s converted into sugars very slowly and therefore helps to keep blood sugar levels stable – which is good for the blood.

Beetroot can be eaten in many ways either raw (juice, sandwich or salad) or cooked (steamed, boiled). If your urine turns pink after consuming a lot of beetroot, don't panic. It’s harmless and you’ll soon return to normal when your intake falls.

Today, I share with you my own version of beetroot soup. You can also find another beetroot soup recipe from Bits of Taste n Life .

Ingredients:
2 small size beetroots (about 320g) – slice each beetroot into 4 portions
1 carrot (about 150g) – cut into chunks
1 large sweetcorn (about 300g) – cut into chunks
1 big onion – chopped coarsely
12-15 red dates - remove seeds
200g pork loin – cut into chunks
1500ml water

Seasonings:
Salt and pepper to taste - optional

Methods:
1. Blanch pork loin in boiling water for a short while. Dish and set aside.
2. Bring water to a boiling point. Add in all the ingredients and re-boil the soup . Then simmer for 2 hours.
3. Add seasonings accordingly and serve.

Other reading references:
http://www.lovebeetroot.co.uk/healthy_info/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beet
http://newbeingnutrition.com/wordpress/beetroot-benefits/
http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio5/elderlycooking/20081020.html

If you have other wonderful beetroot recipes, please share with me.




I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB#157), which is now being housed by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Wiffy of Noob Cook.

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Mashed potato with corns

Mashed potato is my hubby's all-time favourite since he was a child. Now it has become my son's favourite too! I love to use the sweetcorns from this soup to mix with my mashed potatoes because they are extremely juicy and delicious after absorbing all the nice flavours from the soup.

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
2-3 tbsp butter (melted)
Fresh milk
½ corn-on-the-cob
Spring onions (chopped)

Seasonings:
Salt and pepper

Methods:
1. Use a potato masher, wooden spoon or fork to mash the potatoes.
2. Add butter and seasonings.
3. For a fluffier mash, add hot milk in a slow steady stream and keep stirring. Stop when you have reached the consistency you desire.
4. Sprinkle some spring onions for garnishing.

Note:
Instead of using the potatoes from the soup, you can cook your own potatoes. Place potatoes (with skin) in a pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for 15 mins or until it is fully cooked and soft. You can test it by using a fork to pierce into it.

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ABC soup

If you are in a rush and need to cook 1 dish-meal cum soup, then this soup is the perfect choice! It is not only as easy as ABC but also a wholesome soup for the family. All of the ingredients (except for the fish bones) are edible. You can serve it with rice or pasta. Hence it is considered a "ZERO wastage" soup. Guess what have I done to the sweetcorns and potatoes in the soup? I had created another dish. The answer is here!

Ingredients:
380g salmon fish bones (you can substitute with lean pork or chicken bones) - blanch over boiling water, put into a soup bag
2 large potatoes (about 300-400g) - cut into 4 for each potato
2 carrots (about 200g) - cut into chunks
1 large sweetcorn (about 360g) - cut into chunks
3 tomatoes (about 300g) - sliced
1 stalk celery (about 100g) - cut into chunks
1 white onion
2 bay leaves
1500ml water

Seasonings:
Salt and pepper to taste

Servings: 9-10 persons

Methods:
1. Bring water to boil. Add in fish bones, onions, sweetcorns and bay leaves. When the soup re-boils, turn the heat to lower and simmer for 2 hours.
2. After half an hour, add in potatoes, carrots, celery.
3. 5 mins before turning off the heat, add in tomatoes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

Other similar recipes:
- corn chowder
- corn soup
- Italian pasta soup

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Corn chowder

Chowder is a special kind of thick soup from New England in the USA

Below is the recipe adapted from Children's Healthy & Fun Cookbook .

Ingredients:
1 large onion
200g fresh, frozen or tinned sweetcorn
1 large carrot
350g potatoes
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 bouquet garni (optional)
1 bay leaf
1.2 litres vegetable stock
300ml milk

Seasonings:
Salt and pepper to taste

Methods:
1. Peel and roughly chop the onion. Scrub the carrot and then thinly slice it. Finally, peel the potatoes and then cut them into small pieces.
2. Hear the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and saute over a medium heat for 8 mins or until soft and slightly golden. Stir the onion occasionally.
3. Next, add the corn, carrot, potatoes, bouquet garni and bay leaf to the onions. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the stock and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium to low. Cover with a lid and cook for 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the milk and cook for a further 5 minutes.
5. Scoop out some of the vegetables and blend the rest of the soup until smooth. Return the vegetables and blended soup to the pan and warm through.

Tips:
1. If you prefer a chunky soup, leave out step 5. Otherwise, blend all the mixture in step 5 until the soup is creamy and smooth.
2. You can serve it with bread rolls, rice or pasta.
3. For a delicious smoked flavour, add chunk of smoked haddock to this soup. Add the fish in step 4 with the milk and simmer for 5 mins or until cooked.

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Corn soup

Ingredients:
2 corn-on-the-cob sweetcorns
1 large carrot
1 white onion
Handful of mushroom stems (I had collected these stems from my previous cooking and stored them in the freezer) - optional
Fish bones
2 slices ginger
15 red dates (removed seeds)
1200ml water

Seasonings:
Salt and pepper to taste

Methods:
1. Wash fish bones. Blanch in hot water.
2. Defrost mushroom stems, wash and set aside.
2. Cut sweetcorns, carrot, onion into big chunks.
3. Bring water to boil. Add in ingredients and bring soup to boil again.
4. Reduce to low heat and boil for 2 hours.
5. Turn off heat and add in seasonings.

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