Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and dice the carrot into small pieces. Peel the garlic clove and crush or finely chop it. Pick the thyme leaves off their woody sprigs (you can leave them on tender white sprigs) and roughly chop them.

Pour 1 tbsp oil into a pan and warm to a medium heat. Slide in the chopped onion, carrot, garlic and thyme. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 5 mins, till starting to soften.

Meanwhile, scrub the beetroot and use a box grater to coarsely grate them. No grater? Pop the beetroot into a food processor and blend till it’s finely chopped, or use a cook’s knife and finely chop them into dice.

Add the beetroot to the pan. Pour in 750ml boiling water and crumble in the stock cube. Return to the boil, then turn the heat down a little and simmer for 20 mins, till the beetroot is tender.

Spoon 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard into the soup. Use a stick blender to whizz till smooth. No stick blender? Simply pour the soup (in batches if needed) into a blender and blitz. Have a taste of the soup and add more salt and pepper if needed. Ladle the soup into two warm bowls and serve.