See Also: Cooking Club · Soups · Vegetable Dishes
Borscht (Beet Soup Extraordinare)
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Is it Borshch (Ukrainian) or is it Borsch (Russian) or is it Barszcz (Polish) or is it Borscht (Jewish Polish / Russian)?"
Some add meat such as sliced sausages, some add beans, some add other vegetables but all have beets and onion and the soup should have a little twang coming from vinegar, lemon juice, or more traditionally sour pickle juice. You decide, and it can be vegetarian if using veggie stock and veggie sausages. Have fun!
1 pound beets (usually about 3 - 4 beets)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
4 cups stock, (beef, vegetable, chicken...) more if a thinner soup is desired
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
snipped fresh dill
Wash, trim and peel the beets. Place in a glass or ceramic bowl and cover with a lid or a ceramic plate. Cook in microwave for 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool enough so that you can dice them. In meantime, in heavy bottomed stock pot or sauce pan, heat butter and then saute the diced onion several minutes. Add the diced beets and tomatoes. Cook and stir while adding the stock, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cook several minutes. Taste, adding more salt and pepper as desired, and perhaps a tad bit more vinegar if needed. It should not be sour, but it should have a bit of a "fermented" tang. Serve with dollops of sour cream on the top, sprinkled with the snipped dill.
If desired, some fully cooked German style sausages or brats, or vegetarian sausages can be sliced and added along with the stock.
Recipe created 2009-07-22.
