Thai beetroot soup

Ingredients

Soup

• 500g cooked beetroot (not pickled), roughly chopped
• 400ml tin light coconut milk
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• Juice of 1-2 limes
• ½ tsp salt

Stock

• 4 shallots, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 4 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and chopped
• 2 x 3cm pieces galangal, finely sliced
• 2 thumb-size pieces of root ginger, grated
• 6 makrut lime leaves, shredded
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 650ml cold water
• 50g coriander, stalks and leaves chopped (reserve a few leaves for garnishing)
• 1 bird's-eye chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

Procedure

1. In a large pan, fry the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, root ginger and makrut lime leaves in vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes to release their flavour.
2. Add the water and the rest of the stock ingredients. For more heat, add a few chilli seeds to the pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes before straining and discarding the solids.
3. Put the stock back into the pan, add the chopped beetroot and bring back to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. Blitz with a stick blender, then add the coconut milk and bring the pan back to a simmer again.
4. Add fish sauce, salt and lime juice to taste: the soup should taste sharp and sweet. Serve with the reserved whole coriander leaves.