Rachida’s Beetroot, Sweet Potato And Coconut Soup Recipe

I first tasted this delicious, fragrant, soup when I stayed at Riad Le Pelerin in Marrakech, where Rachida is the head chef. I liked it so much that I asked for the recipe and ended up in the kitchen with Rachida and the staff having a cookery demonstration in Arabic, French and a little English. It’s simple to make, the key is good quality ras el hanout.

Ras el hanout, is a complex blend of anything between eight and sixty spices. Literally translated it means “top of the shop” or the best spices the merchant has to offer. It’s used a lot in Moroccan cooking and is great with meat, grilled vegetables and can be added to cakes too. Spices include cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, rose petals, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, nutmeg, allspice, sea salt, black peppercorns, turmeric and caraway seeds and in Morocco everyone has their own blend or favourite supplier. You can buy it in supermarkets in the UK but check that it has more than a few spices and ideally smell it. It should have a fragrant aroma.

Rachida’s Beetroot, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1kg small beetroot

5 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 kg)

1 400g tin organic coconut milk

1 red onion

1tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp ras el hanout

1 vegetable stock cube

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped walnuts to garnish

 

Method

• Preheat the oven to 250c
• Scrub the beetroot and the sweet potatoes. Wrap in tin foil and place in the oven to roast for about an hour. Check after 45 minutes and remove if soft.
• Whilst the vegetables are roasting, chop a red onion and sweat in the olive oil.
• Once the beetroot and sweet potatoes are cooked allow to cool and unwrap. You can leave the skin on the vegetables or remove it depending on your preference.
• Add the cooked vegetables to the saucepan with the sauted onions. Add the vegetable stock and about three quarters of a litre of boiling water (enough to cover the vegetables), the ras el hanout and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and liquidise.
• Stir through between half and a whole tin of coconut milk depending on your preferences and adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve with some chopped walnuts.

We use Marrakech as a base to visit the weavers who transform our designs into hand-woven blankets. You can view our collections here. You can find suggestions on what to do in Marrakech here and here.

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