Winter Borscht

A hearty vegetarian soup with potatoes, beets and cabbage.

This is a delicious soup, if you love beets. I know not everyone loves beets but I do. I think beets taste the way good dirt smells. As an avid gardener I love both beets and good black dirt!

I believe that this recipe came together after I toured Russia in the late 80’s during Perestroika. I was performing with my best friend Bet and a string quartet. My mom joined us on our journeys through the country. Borscht in Russia always had beef in it. Of course Myra figured out how to make a great veggie version!

At Myra’s, they served Winter Borscht with sour cream. I prefer a spoonful of plain yogurt in place of the sour cream.

This soup takes a while to make because there are so many veggies to cut up. If you don’t have time to cook fresh beets, grab a couple of cans and skip the first step. I found that by the time the beets had cooked, I had all the other vegetables chopped and I was ready to make the soup. If you end up with fresh beets with green leaves, chop the leaves up and use them instead of all cabbage!

Za vashe zdorov’ye!! To your health, all you beet lovers!!

Winter Borscht

A hearty winter soup with potatoes, beets and cabbage.

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American-Russian

Servings 10 servings

Equipment

• 1 medium pot to cook the beets
• 1 large soup pot (4 quarts)
• Food processor, or knife and cutting board
• measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients

  

• 2 TBLS vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 2 teas. salt
• 2 teas. caraway seeds
• 2 teas. dried dill weed
• 3/4 teas. black pepper
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 2 TBLS lemon juice
• 2 TBLS balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBLS honey
• 2 TBLS orange juice frozen concentrate, or 1/3 cup orange juice
• 7 cups shredded cabbage (about 1/2 small head)
• 2 to 3 quarts water, or beet juice
• 1 TBLS veggie base
• 1 quart cooked beets, cubed or shredded about 6 small beets, or 4 large

Instructions

 

• Wash beets well, scrubbing off any dirt. cover with water and boil until soft.

  Peel the beets and cube or shred. You should have about 4 cups. Set aside.
• While the beets are cooking, Saute the garlic and onion in 2 TBLS of oil until soft.
• Add the potatoes, add water to just cover the potatoes and add the salt, caraway, dill and black pepper. Cook until just soft.
• Add the vinegars, juices and honey. Add the cabbage and enough water and/or beet water to cover everything. Bring to a boil and add the beets.

  Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft.

  You can adjust the sweet/sour taste by adding a little more vinegar or honey.

  Serve hot with a spoonful of plain yogurt or sour cream in each bowl, if you like.

Notes

If you don’t want to buy and cook fresh beets, you can get cans of beets and skip the first step.

If you get fresh beets with greens, use them in the soup instead of all cabbage.

Shred the greens and add when you add the cabbage.

Keyword Beets, cabbage, dill, potatoes