Ingredients

Method

• 350 g baby beetroot, peeled and cubed
• 200 g baby leeks, sliced and washed
• 2 t cumin
• 500 ml vegetable or chicken stock
• 125 ml sherry vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 fresh burrata balls
• 35 g petite herb or microherbs, to garnish
• 115 g almonds nuts or water chestnuts, to garnish
• 4 T extra virgin olive oil
• For the apple-and-radish salsa:
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 150 g radishes
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Method

Ingredients

Place the beetroot, leek and cumin in a large saucepan and toss to coat the vegetables with the cumin.

Add the stock and simmer over a medium heat until the beetroot is tender.

Transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Return the smooth beetroot soup to the saucepan, add the sherry vinegar and season to taste.

To make the apple-and-radish salsa, thinly slice the apples and radishes into matchsticks using a sharp knife. Place in a mixing bowl and add the lemon juice.

To serve, place the soup in a large bowl and tear in the burrata. Sprinkle over the apple-and-radish salsa and garnish with the microherbs and crumbled chestnuts. Drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil.

Cook's note: burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. Find it at Italian delis, but if you can't find it, use regular mozzarella instead.

Read more about TASTE's Food Editor Abigail Donnelly and the exclusive dinner she cooked for André Naudé the article, The Highest Bidder.