This recipe is very close to me. It's my go to favorite for a wonderful, flavorflul and colorful soup. I worked on this recipe with different measurements for the last three years. A few months ago, with the help of my fiance (an authentic Russian!) I settled on my perfect Borscht recipe.
I am going to spill the beans and share it with you my friends, because great food should be shared! The beauty of this soup is the flavor becomes even more unbelievably delicious after a day of sitting in the fridge.
Be warned, this makes a lot of soup! My fiance and I eat it for a few days, every meal, so scale it back.
Ingredients:- 2tsp olive oil
- 1/4 head of cabbage, sliced and diced
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 large beets, sliced
- 3 potatoes, diced
- 4 carrots, diced
- 5 cloves of garlic (or more... garlic, who doesn't love more garlic)
- 1 12oz can diced tomatoes
- 6 cups Veggie broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 bay leaves
- optional garnish: green onions, dill, sour cream (so or otherwise non veggies)
Directions: 
Directions:1. In a sauce pan boil some water and put your beets in there to boil away until they can be pierced with a fork. This helps them retain their colour once they are thrown into the soup, and makes them much easier to peel and chop later.
Also save the beet water once done!2. Meanwhile, in a stock pot toss in your carrots, onion, garlic and potatoes with the olive oil.
3. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring often, do not let them brown
4. Remove beets from their pot, peel and cut them up
(Prepare for this to look like you lost a fight... badly. If you are wearing something you don't want to be pink for the rest of its life, put on an apron or change... seriously, you may want to wear gloves... I find if i work with the beets while they are still warm and wash my hands as soon as I am done cutting them, my skin isn't dyed pink.) 
5. Add tomatoes, beets and stir...
... then add broth, cabbage, salt, pepper, and bay leaves
6. Stir it all together bring to a boil, reduce heat and let bubble away for 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
7. Serve hot with your optional garnishes.
I put dill on mine... tons!!!
and Denis like green onion, or if there is any around "sour cream" and dill and green onions.
Have you ever made borscht before?
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Comments (6)
Nope never have but this might be TMO. I think eating a fair amount of beets turns your urine to a pinkish hue. The recipe looks interesting and I know for a fact that the color proabably doesn't reflect the taste.
I loooove beets, and I've actually been looking for a good borscht recipe. I'll definitely be making this one, sans olive oil :p
i make it from time to time. Borscht is actually a really popular soup in Hong Kong, and their version is pretty similar to yours. i usually have some meat it in, usually pork or lamb. i don't use beets but i think that would be a good idea. i add a few tablespoons of ketchup and garlic cloves in my version. we also eat it for a few days as it makes lots of soup
@shunny@xanga - It's only two beets, and you don't eat them all by yourself. I have never had pink urine from beets, and I eat the often.
@karmavore - Yea thanks for the information. I have not eaten beets in ages and cannot really remember what they taste like. Nice recipe by the way.
Good recipe - I've been using this for a while as a guide and modifying it.. I use canola oil instead of olive oil. Recently had parsnips around so used that and fewer carrots. I'm not vegan; I use beef broth and browned grass-fed beef chuck roast (or similar) thrown in with the veggies. And I added some cayenne (I'm a sucker for spiciness) and some red wine vinegar & lemon juice after cooking. And I prepare the garnish ahead of time as sour cream mixed with fresh dill, grated horseradish, salt, and a little (non-HFCS) Worcestershire sauce. (That mix doubles as a dip for veggies). I use more broth given the added beef. Its one awesome meal in itself, and freezes great (although some complain about mush potatoes after thawing.. Not a problem here.)