I still do not understand why Americans do not eat more beets. Yes, they are a strange color, but they are delicious and very nutritious. I love that my husband along with dinner guests do not mind trying new things, because this soup will not disappoint. Give it a shot! This could also serve as a nice light dinner meal, served with some dark bread!
Traditional Russian Borscht
Total cook time: about 1 1/2 hours (mostly cooking meat for broth)
beef chunks 1/2 lb (can sub chicken)
6 cups water
bay leaves
salt
whole peppercorns
1 long carrot
3-4 potatoes
1/4 head of medium cabbage
1 large or 2 small raw beets
1/2 onion
olive oil for frying
1 tbsp tomato paste
dill
1 tsp cumin
1/2 lemon
sugar, by taste
1 clove garlic
sour cream, for serving
Boil beef and next 4 ingredients about 45 min until your meat is cooked through and you have a nice broth. You may need to add more water (judge based on how much soup you want - maybe 1 or 2 cups). Pull the meat out and shred or chop into bite size pieces. Add back into the pot. Peel potatoes and cut into halves. Traditionally, I like to throw these large halves in to boil, and then split them with a fork before serving, but it's really up to you. You can cut the potatoes into small chunks if desired. When the broth is ready, add in the potatoes. If you are adding the larger halves of potatoes then these will need about 15 min or so before you add the other ingredients. The beet and cabbage only takes about 7-10 min to cook so plan accordingly.
Separately chop or shred on a large grater the carrot and chop onion. Sautee onion and carrot with olive oil in a pan on medium heat until carrots are nearly tender. Add the tomato paste and a ladle of broth from the soup and stir together.
When the potatoes are nearly done, add in the carrot mixture to the soup. Chop the cabbage into narrow strips and grate the raw beet on the large grater edge. Add both to soup. Your soup should now be pretty thick. Let everything boil for about 5 more minutes until everything is tender.
Add in your seasonings - 1 minced clove of garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, lemon juice, and sugar to taste. The sugar is important because it will counter the acidity of the tomato paste and lemon juice. Turn off heat and add dill.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream! Let me know how it goes.
Traditional Russian Borscht
Total cook time: about 1 1/2 hours (mostly cooking meat for broth)
beef chunks 1/2 lb (can sub chicken)6 cups water
bay leaves
salt
whole peppercorns
1 long carrot
3-4 potatoes
1/4 head of medium cabbage
1 large or 2 small raw beets
1/2 onion
olive oil for frying
1 tbsp tomato paste
dill
1 tsp cumin
1/2 lemon
sugar, by taste
1 clove garlic
sour cream, for serving
Boil beef and next 4 ingredients about 45 min until your meat is cooked through and you have a nice broth. You may need to add more water (judge based on how much soup you want - maybe 1 or 2 cups). Pull the meat out and shred or chop into bite size pieces. Add back into the pot. Peel potatoes and cut into halves. Traditionally, I like to throw these large halves in to boil, and then split them with a fork before serving, but it's really up to you. You can cut the potatoes into small chunks if desired. When the broth is ready, add in the potatoes. If you are adding the larger halves of potatoes then these will need about 15 min or so before you add the other ingredients. The beet and cabbage only takes about 7-10 min to cook so plan accordingly.
Separately chop or shred on a large grater the carrot and chop onion. Sautee onion and carrot with olive oil in a pan on medium heat until carrots are nearly tender. Add the tomato paste and a ladle of broth from the soup and stir together.
When the potatoes are nearly done, add in the carrot mixture to the soup. Chop the cabbage into narrow strips and grate the raw beet on the large grater edge. Add both to soup. Your soup should now be pretty thick. Let everything boil for about 5 more minutes until everything is tender.
Add in your seasonings - 1 minced clove of garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, lemon juice, and sugar to taste. The sugar is important because it will counter the acidity of the tomato paste and lemon juice. Turn off heat and add dill.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream! Let me know how it goes.
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