- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 300g beetroot
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 juniper berries
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 pear
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Scrub and finely dice the carrot.
- 2.
Set a large pan over high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and stir in the diced veg. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Lower the heat. Cook for 5 mins, stirring a few times, till the veg start to soften.
- 3.
While the veg fry, peel the beetroot and dice it. Add to the pan with the bay leaves and juniper berries. Cook for 5 mins, stirring once or twice. Crumble in the stock cube. Add 800ml boiling water. Bring to the boil.
- 4.
Pop a lid on the pan. Simmer for 20 mins or till the beetroot is tender right the way through.
- 5.
While the beetroot simmers, peel, core and dice the pear. Remove the bay leaves from the pan and add the pear. Simmer for 5 mins to soften the pear, then use a hand-held blender to blitz the soup in the pan, or ladle it into a blender to blitz. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Ladle into warm bowls to serve.
- 6.