This hearty and healthy Ukrainian borscht is loaded with beets, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Delicious, served with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill.
Borscht is a popular sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. With its Ukrainian origin, the soups main ingredient is beetroot. Shredded beetroot gives this dish its distinctive red color. Borscht is typically made by sautéing vegetables, such as cabbage, carrots, beets, onion and garlic. Then slow cooked in a rich broth to meld all the flavors. Borscht may include meat, or be purely vegetarian. It can be served either hot or cold. This hearty soup is delicious with a dollop of sour cream and fresh chopped dill.
Recipe
BORSCHT - BEETROOT SOUP
Ingredients
Borscht Broth with Meat:
- 8 cups water
- 1 lbs beef short ribs
- ½ onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Borscht without Meat:
- 32 oz chicken stock (4 cups)
- 3 beets - peeled and grated
- 1 red bell pepper - finely chopped
- 2 carrots - thinly sliced
- ½ head white cabbage - thinly sliced
- 1 small red onion - sliced
- 2 potatoes - peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 garlic cloves - minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 16 oz cannelini beans with liquid (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
For the Broth with Meat:
- 1. In a stockpot combine water, beef short ribs, onion, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium heat about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Adding more water if needed.2. Remove debris that float on the top with a slotted spoon.3. Turn of heat. Remove ribs and transfer to a chopping board. take of the bones and shred meat with two forks. Set aside until needed.
For the Borscht with/or without Meat:
- 1. Prepare all the vegetables by peeling, slicing, chopping and grating. Use disposable gloves when grating beets to avoid red stains on hands.2. In a stock pot add a little olive oil, and sautee the onion and garlic. Then add the carrots, bell pepper, beets and cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 15 minutes. 3. Add the potatoes, canellini beans (if using)4. Pour in the chicken stock (meatless version), or beef broth with the shredded beef (meat version). 5. Add vinegar and bay leaves . Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, and let it simmer for anther 30 minutes.Serve borscht hot with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with fresh dill. Enjoy!
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