Name: Beetroot and Blue Murder Borscht
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2–3 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 1–2 tsp cumin seeds; 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil; 250 g Blue Murder, crumbled; spignel, dill or parsley, finely chopped; 10–12 good-sized beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped; 600 ml chicken or vegetable stock; 1 bottle of red wine; 1–2 tsp sugar (optional); cream, for serving (optional); a knob of butter

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Taste of the Highlands

By Ghillie Basan

Published 2021

About

It’s worth making this simple borscht just for its cracking purple-red colour – it reminds me of some bell heathers or rosebay willow herb in bloom. I have added Blue Murder from Highland Fine Cheeses in the same way one might add Stilton to soup. Blue Murder, which is softer and creamier than many mould-ripened (blue) cheeses with a salty-sweet taste, was originally made for Alex James