This recipe comes from my Functional Gut Book: The Gut Health Diet. Beetroots are a great source of fibre, folate and potassium. They are also one of the richest sources of glutamine, an amino acid essential to the health and maintenance of our gut. Being rich in fibre, and antioxidants they are useful for supporting a healthy microbiome and being known to support bile flow they may make it easier for the body to absorb and digest fats in the diet.

Spiced Beetroot & Apple Soup

Overview

 

Serves 2

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

 

What’s Good About It?

A great light lunch or snack. Packed with antioxidants and fibre as well as naturally rich in glutamine to support gut health. Roasting the beetroot gives the soup a lovely earthy and sweet flavour.

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6
  2. Toss the beetroot, apple, onion and garlic with a little oil in a baking dish.  Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until tender
  3. Put the cooked vegetables in a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
  4. Pour into a pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon into bowls.
  5. Top with a little herb yogurt to serve

 

Did You Know?

Not keen on beetroot? Use other root vegetables to replace the beetroot – celeriac, carrot and parsnip work really well.

250g beetroot peeled and diced

1 apple, quartered

½ onion, quartered

1 garlic clove

olive oil for drizzling

1tsp cumin seeds

½  tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of ground ginger

zest and juice of 1 lime

500ml homemade chicken stock or bone broth

Drizzle

2 sprigs of mint leaves, finely chopped

pinch of sea salt

100g live natural yogurt or coconut yogurt