vegan Barbie-doll pink

This summer I decided I wanted to experiment a little with chilled soups. I love soup in the winter (one pot meal + filling + healthy = good), but the only summer soup I made was gazpacho, and as wonderful as gazpacho can be, it does get boring after a while.

Since I also love beets, I decided to try this chilled beetroot soup. It's dead easy, and goes something like this:

• Steam 3 medium-sized beets until just cooked.
• Gently cook chopped potatos and onions (to match the volume of beets) in butter or vegan margarine, taking care nothing browns.
• Peel and chop the beets and add to the potato-onion mixture.
• Add 1 litre water or stock to the vegetables. Let everything cook through for about 15 minutes.
• Purée it all (I use a stick blender right in the pot) and let chill, or eat warm if you prefer.

Basic enough, right? Here's the best part: this tasty, vegan-friendly (if you use the margarine instead of butter), relatively healthy soup made with very basic ingredients comes out looking, all on its own, like this:

That's an all-natural colour that has not been 'Shopped, folks.

Bonus fun: bring it to work and have colleagues ask you if it's your dessert.