Hot roasted beetroot and red onion soup with dumplings

To roast the beetroot:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Wash the beetroot very well, scrubbing lightly if necessary. Trim the stalks leaving about 5 cm on each beetroot and ensuring the tails remain intact (this will stop the beetroot from bleeding).
Place the still wet beetroot in a baking pan lined with a large sheet of foil. Wrap them up in the foil and roast for 2 hours, or until soft.
When cool enough to handle, slip off the skins and stalks and chop the flesh into chunks.
To make the soup:
In a saucepan, gently cook the onion in the heated oil until very soft. Add the garlic and then the shredded cabbage, stirring until the latter wilts. Add the roasted beetroot, stock, sugar, prune and lemon juice and season to taste.
Simmer, half covered, for 40 minutes. Stir in the dill and check seasoning (if it needs it, add a little more lemon juice). Serve with ricotta dumplings.
To make the ricotta-dill dumplings:
Soak the bread in the milk for 30 minutes, or until soft. Mix together with the remaining ingredients and chill for at least an hour, or until stiff.
With wet hands, form the dumpling mixture into small balls (about 24).
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the dumplings and cook for a few minutes, or until they float to the surface. Drain in a colander.
To serve:
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve the dumplings on the side. Serve hot.

TASTE’s take:
This East European-inspired soup features a wonderful balance of flavours, with textural interest provided by the prunes and ricotta dumplings. Leave out the dumplings, if you wish, and serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream instead.