Borscht

In case you aren’t sure what Borscht is, it is a Ukrainian soup that has beets as a main ingredient.  It is absolutely wonderful.

The beets make the soup a wonderful deep red colour. The soup is hearty and the beets give it a nice sweet flavour. Topped with a dollop of sour cream and some fresh dill, it is perfection

Eating this soup takes me home to Saskatchewan where we all grew up eating someone’s grandma’s Perogies, Cabbage Rolls and Borscht!

What you need,

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2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. caraway seeds

1½ lb. beets, peeled and diced

5 cups green cabbage, diced

2 small white potatoes, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

2 bay leaves

1¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 can tomato paste

1 tbsp. brown sugar, packed

4 cups vegetable stock + 4-5 cups water (you could use all water)

3 tbsp. white vinegar

3 tbsp. chopped fresh dill

Sour cream for serving

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Cook the onion, garlic and caraway seeds, stirring often until softened and light golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the beets, cabbage, potatoes, celery, carrot, bay leaves and salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until beets are starting to soften, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste and brown sugar, cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, until the beets are tender, about 45 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves and stir in the vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the chopped fresh dill.

Serve right away with a big old dollop of sour cream and a little more dill.

  

Store an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

This soup also freezes really well!

I am so happy I finally made this soup, it is so very good.

We loved it!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe adapted from Canadian Living