Best Beet Borscht

The Best Beet Borscht

In Eastern Europe, where borscht is king, you could eat a different recipe of borscht every week of the year, and each would be authentic. Although borscht is thought of as a beet dish, the word means any soup made with a variety of vegetables. My version is easy to fix, yet retains the qualities found in a more time-consuming preparation.

I flavor with kvass, a traditional fermented beet liquid for use in red cabbage found in European delis, but it’s not necessary; substitute lemon juice if you wish.

Notice that the vegetables are slow and low simmered to preserve the red color of the beets; boiling turns them sienna brown.  So a low simmer is the key!

Borscht ages well; in fact, my family prefers it the next day or even later in the week. Served with full sour cream or Balkan yogurt, some artisan bread, and sweet butter, you’ll have a hearty and satisfying meal.

For this my Dad’s Recipe Ingredients

2 thick slices double smoke bacon or chunked kielbasa sausage

1 large onion

2 stalks celery

1 large beet

2 cloves garlic

2 cups fresh tomato pulp or canned plum tomatoes

1 cup peeled and chopped potatoes

1 qt beef stock

1 qt water

3 peppercorns

6 sprigs parsley

1 tsp salt

2 cups julienned or coarsely grated beets

1 cup julienned or coarsely grated carrots

4 Tbsp butter

3 cups shredded red cabbage

Freshly ground pepper

Kvass or fresh lemon juice

Fresh dill (optional)

Sour cream

Chop bacon, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water, drain, and dry thoroughly. Lightly brown bacon in a frying pan. Remove bacon and reserve the fat. Chop onion and celery and sauté in bacon fat until barely wilted and lightly colored. Wash and grate beet, and halve garlic.

Place the bacon, onion, celery, beet, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, stock, water, peppercorns, parsley, and salt into a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove vegetables and put through the finest disk of a food mill, sieve, or food processor, discarding the pulp and seeds. Add the puree to the broth.

Sauté julienned beets and carrots in 2 tablespoons butter for 5 minutes.

Add to the soup base and simmer for 15 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, braise cabbage in remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large frying pan, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until wilted and slightly colored.

Add to soup and simmer 15 minutes longer.

Taste for seasoning; add pepper and salt if necessary; add sufficient kvas or lemon juice to give a slightly tart, but not sour, taste.

Just before serving, heat to boiling and add dill if you like. Dish up with a spoonful of sour cream on each serving. (The dill can also be passed as a garnish.)

(Makes2 quarts)

For a heartier meatier meal, simmer 2 pound

meaty ham shank or pork shinbone in 1 teaspoon salt plus 3 litres water

or combination water and beef stock for 2 hour.

Then simmer vegetables in this meat stock for 45 minutes, as done in the instructions above.

When straining, reserve the picked off meat to add to finished soup.

MMMM Good!

Let’s eat