
Borscht – my all-time favorite soup. Hearty, soothing, and just down right awesome. And, if you have lots of root vegetables, a good fridge clearing event! Kids love it because of its color and flavor. Parents love it because it is a natural remedy for curing common colds and aches. And during Christmas – it is just perfectly festive! I recommend doubling the recipe since it takes so long, and this portion will go fast!
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
Borscht Ingredients
- 5-6 beets (approximately 1 1/4 lb)
- 3 carrots (shredded – 1 cup)
- 1 cabbage wedge (shredded – 1 cup)
- 3 potatoes
- 2 onions
- 3 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- Fresh chopped dill
- Sour Cream
- 4-6 lemon wedges for serving
Soup Stock Ingredients
- 2 1/4 lb beef + bone (any will do, go as fatty or as lean as your tastes prefer)
- 8 cups water
- 1 carrot
- 1 parsnip
- 1 celeriac
- 1 onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 4-5 peppercorns
- 2-3 fresh parsley stalks
- 1 tsp salt
Recipes
Soup Stock Recipe
- Place beef (and bone) into a large pot. Add water and bring to boil.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Skim off any fat / oil / residue that boils off.
- Add cleaned and stripped carrot, parsnip, celeriac, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley and salt to the pot.
- Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Remove vegetables and spices from the pot and discard.
- Remove meat (and bone) from the pot. Cut the meat into small chunks. Set aside for later.
Borscht Recipe
- Add cleaned and stripped beets and carrots to the pot.
- Bring to boil, then reduce and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Remove the beets and carrots from the pan and cool.
- Add sliced / shredded cabbage and sliced onions, plus diced potatoes, to the pot.
- Bring back to boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Grate (coarse) the beets and carrots, and add to the pot.
- Add tomato paste, sugar and salt to the pot.
- Add the meat from earlier to the pot.
- Return to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve in bowls, topped with sour cream and fresh dill, with a side lemon wedge.