A slight departure, if I may: rather than writing about beetroot, the ingredient that ties this week’s recipes together, I want to talk about Soup For Syria, which was published last week. It’s a collection of soup recipes, curated and photographed by Barbara Abdeni Massaad, that features all sorts of soups and all sorts of portrait photographs.
The juxtaposition of the two is a powerful one. At first glance, the concept might seem flippant – the insignificance of soup compared with the plight of over four million Syrian refugees – but the link is there, and it’s a meaningful one. Behind every recipe, there’s a history of displacement, a story of the dish’s journey as it passes from one generation to the next, from one culture to another. Behind the eyes on every face in the book, there’s a similar history of displacement, a story of the Syrian people’s journey as they are forced to flee their homes and find refuge elsewhere.
Comfort food is often the food that reminds us of home, of the country where we grew up. Soup is often the most comforting, soothing and healing of all dishes, so by extension it’s the dish that connects us most with home. All proceeds from the book go to the UN Refugee Agency, to help fund lifesaving relief efforts for the refugees. This is going to be only a drop in the ocean, I know, but do buy a copy, if you can, then make some soup and think of home.
Beetroot and orange soup with saffron yoghurt
This recipe isn’t in the book, but it does remind me of the flavours of home. Serves six.
1.2kg medium beetroot, skin on, scrubbed and trimmed
1 large head garlic
3 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp extra
Salt
¼ tsp saffron threads soaked in 1 tbsp boiling water for at least 30 minutes
400g Greek yoghurt
2 tsp lemon juice
40g flaked almonds
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
Shaved skin of ½ an orange, plus 60ml of its juice
1.3 litres vegetable stock
5g basil leaves, coarsely shredded
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put the beetroot in a high-sided, 20cm x 30cm baking tray, so they fit snugly. Cut off and discard the top quarter of the garlic head, then put the garlic cut side up in one corner of the tray. Drizzle the garlic with a teaspoon of oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cover the tray tightly with two layers of foil, then roast for an hour, until the beetroot are soft when pierced with a knife and the garlic is caramelised.
Set aside for about 10 minutes, until the beetroot are cool enough to handle, then peel and discard the skin, and chop the beets into 2cm dice. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and into a small bowl.
Mix the saffron (and its soaking water) with the yoghurt, lemon juice and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and set aside.
Put a medium frying pan on a medium heat with a tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add the almonds and chilli, fry for a minute or two, stirring often, until they start to turn golden, then tip into a bowl.
Put two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Fry the onion in the hot oil for eight to nine minutes, stirring a few times, until soft and caramelised. Add the ginger, cinnamon, orange skin and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, fry for a minute longer, then add the beetroot, roast garlic puree, orange juice and stock,. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes, then take off the heat, remove and discard the orange skin, and blitz smooth with a stick blender.
Divide the soup between six bowls, spoon a good dollop of yoghurt on each, sprinkle the almonds and basil on top, and serve.
Cardamom-marinated mackerel with beetroot salsa
I don’t mind biting into a cardamom pod, but I know that’s an acquired taste, so take them out before serving, if you’d rather. Serve four.
For the fish
4 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 2 tsp lemon juice
15 cardamom pods, bashed, seeds removed and roughly ground, outer pods discarded
8 mackerel fillets, skin on and pin-boned
80g plain flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g unsalted butter
120g Greek yoghurt
5g picked coriander leaves, to serve
For the beetroot
3 medium beetroot, unpeeled, roots trimmed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large banana shallot, peeled and finely chopped
6 whole cardamom pods
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp lemon juice
Put two tablespoons of oil in a medium bowl with the garlic, ginger, lemon zest and crushed cardamom seeds. Mix to a rough paste, then add the fish and coat with the marinade. Cover the bowl, then put it in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably longer.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, then add the beetroot, cook for 40 minutes, until soft when pricked with a knife, then drain. When the beetroot is cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skin, then chop the flesh into 1cm dice. Put the oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, fry the shallot for seven to eight minutes, stirring once in a while, until caramelised and soft. Add the cardamom pods and cumin, fry, stirring constantly, for two minutes then stir in the diced beetroot, lemon juice and a third of a teaspoon of salt, and set aside in a warm spot.
Lift the fish out of its marinade, scraping off most of it but leaving a bit for flavour, then transfer to a plate; discard the marinade.
Put the flour in a medium bowl with half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss the fish in the flour to coat it on both sides, then shake off any excess. Put a large nonstick frying pan on a medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil and half the butter. Once the butter starts to foam, lay in half the mackerel flesh-side down and cook for two minutes. Flip over, fry for two minutes more, until cooked through, then remove from the pan, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and keep warm while you repeat with the remaining oil, butter and fish.
Divide the fish between four plates and squeeze over the lemon juice. Spoon the beetroot alongside and top that with a spoonful of yogurt. Gently swirl the yoghurt into the beetroot, so it ripples, then sprinkle with coriander and serve.
Kohlrabi, beetroot and celery leaf salad
A great standalone salad that also goes very well with oily fish such as mackerel or salmon. If you have one, use a mandolin to cut the kohlrabi, beetroot and apple as thin as they need to be. The pink and white rounds of candy beetroot look fantastic here, but use regular beets if that’s all you can get. And don’t worry if you don’t have urfa chilli: the salad works fine without them. Serves four as a side or two as a main.
1 large kohlrabi, trimmed, peeled and cut into 1-2mm-thick slices
2 small candy beetroot, peeled and sliced into 1-2mm-thick rounds (or regular beetroot)
½ pink lady apple, quartered, cored and cut into 1-2mm-thick slices
¼ red onion, cut into 1-2mm-thick slices
10g celery leaves, roughly torn (or 20g parsley leaves)
10g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
5g tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
1 tsp poppy seeds
½ tsp nigella seeds
½ tsp urfa chilli flakes (optional)
For the dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
Salt
Put the first seven ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl mix the almonds, seeds and chilli flakes, if using. Whisk together the dressing ingredients with half a teaspoon of salt, then pour this over the vegetables and herbs. Toss to combine, then transfer to a platter. Sprinkle the almond and seed mix unevenly over the top and serve.
Soup For Syria, with contributions from, among others, Yotam Ottolenghi, Claudia Roden and Anthony Bourdain, is published by Anova Pavilion at £18.99. To order a copy, go the bookshop.theguardian.com.
Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.
