THE STUDENT VEGETARIAN COOK BOOK

- INGREDIENTS -

I Ib/500 g raw beetroot

12 oz/375 g (2 medium) floury potatoes

2 vegetable stock cubes or sufficient to make up 2 pints/l litre stock

1 large onion

3 cloves garlic

3-4 oz/90-125 g (I large) carrot

2 oz/50 g (I large stick) celery

Small bunch parsley

About I tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons tomato puree

4 slightly rounded teaspoons dark soft brown sugar

1 scant tablespoon red wine vinegar

Salt Pepper

7 oz/200-225 g pot Greek or Greek-style yoghurt

Large saucepan

- METHOD -

Peel and slice the beetroot and potatoes; slice the beetroot very thinly (this makes it easier to mash). Make up the stock according to the instructions on the packet. Put the beetroot and potatoes into a saucepan with enough stock to cover them, setting any surplus aside. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the beetroot is tender. Drain overa bowl to catch the cooking liquor and mash with a fork. To mash the beetroot thoroughly will take time: tackle it slice by slice.

2 Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic, keeping each separate. Peel and finely dice the carrot. Trim the root and leaf ends of the celery, pare off any brown streaks, wash and slice finely. Trim the parsley stalks, wash and leave to drain.

3 Put the onion into the large saucepan with the oil and fry over low heat, turning frequently, for 8-10 minutes or until soft and translucent but not brown. Add the garlic and fry for 4-5 minutes more, until the onion and garlic are just beginning to change colour. Add the carrot and celery and turn briefly in the oil, adding a little more if the pan is very dry. Pour in the beetroot/potato liquor and any remaining stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the carrot is tender.

4 Stir in the tomato puree, sugar, vinegar, mashed beetroot and potato, a light seasoning of salt and rather more pepper, and simmerfor 20-25 minutes. Chop the parsley. Add more salt to the soup to taste (quite a lot is needed, but the stock may have been salty). Serve and add a blob ofyoghurt in the centre of each bowl. Top with chopped parsley.

• PIERO'S SPINACH SOUp·

Piero runs a coffee-bar-cum-art-galley in London near the British Museum which is a popular meeting-place. As well as coffee and a small but luscious selection of cakes, he makes a few hot dishes for lunch. The recipes come from his mother, who lives in Amalfi, near Naples.

If real spinach is not available, a similar-looking vegetable with large, dark green leaves and thick, white stems is sometimes sold instead: this is sea-kale beet or Swiss chard. Another (although less common) alternative is New Zealand spinach, which has small, dark leaves growing from a central stem, rather like mint. Both (particularly New Zealand spinach) are good in their own rightand sometimes an acceptable substitute for real spinach. In this soup, however, real (fresh) spinach makes the difference between a merely pleasant and a truly delicious result.

When possible, choose spinach pulled up by the roots, which will probably be in better condition than individual leaves. If you buy more than you need, pull off the roots, pick over and wash all of it and store the surplus in a food bag in the refrigerator: it will stay fresh for at least 2 days.

As potatoes are included in the recipe chiefly to absorb fat and thicken the soup, use floury ones (Marfona, Pentland Dell, Pentland Squire, Cara or Maris Piper). For 4.