What can I say? Growing up in Russia, we ate a lot of beets, and I've always loved them. In salads, soups, or simply roasted, not only do they have a vibrant deep purplish/pinkish color, but they have a natural sweetness to them that pairs so well with many other ingredients.
I've been lucky to grow up in the family where everyone cooks. I know I've mentioned it several times on this blog, but it's not a bad thing to repeat for my new readers. Both my parents, my grandmother and my dad's parents have always been home cooks, and rarely used a cookbook. That's how I cook now too.
But back to borscht. This Russian beet soup, which also typically consists of cabbage, potatoes and carrots, is definitely my dad's specialty. Even my grandma, his mother in law, claims that his version is better than my mom's. Can you get higher praise than that?
My dad's version of borscht varies every time he makes it depending on the season, ingredients available, and what he feels like adding or leaving out. When I got together with my friend Wendy this past weekend, she asked if we could make borscht. I called my dad, asked him to give me a basic run down of the recipe, and we started cooking.
This particular version has carrots, onions, garlic, beets, potatoes, cabbage, tomato paste, sugar, lemon juice, dill and parsley stems and is served with sour cream and dill. My dad also adds celery, red peppers, sometimes zucchini, and root of the parsley plant. You do what you want when you make your soup: feel free to use chicken or beef broth and even include shredded chicken or beef in the final dish.
{According to @katenthekitchen, these are are Chiogga Beets or Candied Stripe Beets. They are gorgeous, but because of the predominance of white color, did not result in the deep purple colored soup I was expecting.}
Ingredients
olive oil
1 cup peeled and cubed beets
1 cup peeled and cubed carrots
2/3 cups chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled, quartered {I used the red ones}
1/2 small cabbage, sliced
parsley and dill stems
3 tablespoons tomato paste
sugar to taste
lemon juice
1/2 small beet peeled and shredded
dill
sour cream
Directions
1. In a large pot {I used my 5.5 quart Le Creuset} heat olive oil. Add cubed beets and saute till soft. Add carrots and continue sauteing till they've softened. Add an onion and garlic clove and saute for a few more minutes till aromatic. Remove from the pot.
2. Add enough water to fill 1/2 of the pot. Add cabbage and potatoes and cook till they are almost tender. Add back beets/carrots/onion, parsley & dill stems and bring to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, in a small pot caramelize the tomato paste with a bit of sugar and parsley stems. The parsley stems will add a bit of flavor and can be removed later.
4. Add the tomato paste mixture to the soup and mix. Add in the uncooked shredded beet and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Taste the soup. You may add more salt and pepper, sugar, and/or lemon juice. This will take a few attempts at getting the flavor right, but it'll be so worth it. Fish out parsley and dill stems.
6. Serve the soup with sour cream and dill {or you can use mayonnaise and cilantro. My dad is one of the cilantro haters though}.
The soup will only get better after sitting in the refrigerator overnight. It's great hot or cold.
I really hope you will give this recipe a try. Don't be afraid to add some of your own favorite vegetables to the soup. And let me know what you think!
