Borscht As You Like It

We were recently blessed with 10 gallons of beets from my brother’s garden. Some of them are as large as two fists, the others are small and perfect for salads. Prepare yourselves for a few beet recipes in the coming weeks! Rick and I have a Romanian friend, Mircea, who was kind enough to come over and show me how he makes borscht.

In the past there have been vigorous arguments discussions about the inclusion of potatoes in a “real” borscht. Guess who looked like the cat with the cream when Mircea reached into the pantry and pulled out a potato? (It was hard not to gloat, but there were many significant looks and arched eyebrows). Contrary to what anyone may say, there’s no particular way to make borscht and no particular ingredient is required, except beets… and there are beet-less versions to be found on the internet. Our rustic version will have both beets and cabbage, but you’re free to vary the other vegetables, use meat or vegetable stock and use yogurt instead of sour cream when serving the soup.

We had no soup meat in the house, that being used to make a pot of beans. We did have a half gallon of the nice vegetable broth I’ve been making on a regular basis and carrots, onions, garlic and celery to use as a flavorful base. {Read more about mirepoix here and how you can prepare batches in advance}

Mircea and I grated the beets, chopped the veggies and sauteed the carrots, onions, celery and garlic in our best extra virgin olive oil. (He did most of it…hey, someone had to take the photos!).

Then stirred in the beets and carrots. Love all the colors, don’t you?

After adding the broth, we decided to use bay leaf, salt, pepper and Hungarian paprika for flavor. At this point it’s a matter cooking all the vegetables in the broth until tender. We waited to add the potatoes so they wouldn’t cook to mush. Towards the end of cooking we added some chopped fresh parsley from the garden.

Right before serving, add a dollop of sour cream or thick Greek yogurt to the bowl. I like the flavor of good olive oil, but think a little lemon juice and zest would help cut some of the oiliness of the broth; add it when you add the parsley. Serve with a crusty bread or crackers if desired.

This makes about a gallon of tasty soup. Prepared this way, borscht is a surprisingly low-calorie soup, despite the use of olive oil. We sent some home with Mircea and stored the leftovers in the fridge. I debated freezing some, but we finished the whole batch in a couple days.

Borscht As You Like It

A delicious soup with beets, cabbage and other veggies. You can make it totally veggie or add a soup bone and meat broth as you like it. The exact proportions of the vegetables aren't that important. Use what you have and enjoy!

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Eastern Europe

Servings: 0

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

• Three or four fist sized beets grated (about 4 cups)
• Fresh cabbage cored and shredded (about 4 cups)
• up to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium carrots diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 large potato peeled and diced
• 2 quarts broth we used vegetable broth, beef or chicken broth are also good, water also works
• soup bone optional, adds a nice flavor to weaker broth or water
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 1-2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika or a mix of the sweet and hot
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• sour cream or yogurt as garnish

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large 6 quart stock pot or dutch oven. Saute the carrots, onions, celery and garlic until softened.
• Stir in the grated beets and shredded cabbage.
• Add the broth and soup meat (if using). Season with salt, pepper, bay leaves and paprika.
• Cook over medium heat just shy of a full boil until the cabbage and beets are softened. Add more broth or water if needed.
• Add the potato and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes until cooked through.
• Stir in the chopped, fresh parsley.
• To serve, ladle the vegetables into a bowl and top with broth.
• Add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

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Have you had borscht before? How was it prepared? I’ve seen smooth borschts but haven’t tried it. I really like the rustic soup we made. The beets make the color awesome no matter how it’s prepared and since we’re cabbage lovers we were sure to appreciate the flavor.