UKRAINIAN BEET SOUP - BORSCH

The first time I had Borsch was in the dead of winter in the backyard of friends during a sauna party. It was a heady soup cooked with red beets and served hot with sour cream. Fast forward two decades to one of the many trips we took to Nelson visiting son’s family we would drive thorough Grand Forks. One of the larger eateries was advertising Borsch and we went in. It turned out to Green Borsch made with a mixture of summer vegetables and cabbage. I like them both, though the second Borsch was less exotic if not familiar. Today I made the robust Borsch with fresh beets from our garden.

UKRAINIAN BEET SOUP

8 cups of meat stock
2 red beets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
2 parsnips
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 white cabbage
1/4 Savoy cabbage
2 Tbsp chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice [optional]

• Cook the beets just until they can be pierced with a knife.
• Meanwhile peel and thinly slice both the onion and the garlic.
• Add the olive oil to a medium soup pot.
• Stir in the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, but not brown.
• Set the pot aside.
• Cut the carrots and parsnips into matchstick strips.
• Add the carrot and parsnip strips to the pot.
• When the beets are done, place in cold water.
• Slip off the peels.
• Cut the beets in half and slice them very thin.
• Add the sliced beets to the pot.
• Stir in the tomato paste and gently sauté the vegetables until al dente, but not soft.
• Very thinly slice the cabbages.
• Add the sliced cabbage to the pot and sauté for two minutes.
• Add the stock.
• Stir in the chopped dill and salt and pepper to taste.
• If desired add the lemon juice.
• Bring soup to gentle simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Serve very hot with a large dollop of sour cream.