Borscht: Georgian Beet Soup

Covid Begone!

Borscht. A Hot Beet Soup That Warms the Body and Soul.

Covid struck and knocked Dorothy and me out for a few weeks. Dorothy’s fine,

now, and I’m not too far behind in getting healthy again. We both had lost our

appetites, but a home delivery of fresh produce a few days ago—a bag filled with

with fresh beets, carrots, and onion—made me want to make a steaming hot pot

of borscht, just like my Russian Georgian Baba made.

Borscht, a soup that has many spellings, is a classic bright red beet soup.

Borscht’s long history includes many Eastern European cultures, each claiming

the soup as its own creation. Basically a sweet-sour soup, borscht can also have a

life in the summer, served chilled. But hot is the only way I’ve eaten it. Including

in Hawai’i!

This soup is really packed with vegetables that you add

sequentially so that each cooks to its best texture. I begin by cooking the beets.

My favorite method is wrapping them in foil and baking them. While

the beets bake, I prep the other vegetables so they’ll be all ready to add to the

soup when their time comes. When the beets are cool enough to handle, I remove

the peel with my fingers.

Here’s my mis en place, the vegetables I’ll be putting into my borscht. That lump of green in the center is the cooked beet greens, squeezed of excess water. I’ll chop and add it to the soup just before serving. I decided to omit the celery (upper right) from the soup.

Here’s the way I make this soup. The full recipe follows.

Brown the beets, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, in the hot oil, stirring and tossing occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Add the sliced leek and chopped onion and continue cooking, stirring every so often, for a few minutes.

Here’s what the cooked beets, leek, and onion look like.

Add the carrots and garlic and stir them in. Cook 2 to 3 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Add the potatoes and stir them in. Cook a few minutes, stirring a few times.

Add the peppers and give everything a big stir. Cook 2 to 3 minutes and add the hot broth. Beef, chicken vegetable—your choice.

Add the cabbage to the soup, stir well, and cook slowly about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Taste carefully and add salt and pepper as needed.

The borscht is hot and ready to be served. the green is from the cooked and chopped beet greens. Season the soup carefully with lemon juice and taste again.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, put on a dollop of sour cream, garnish with fresh dill or parsley, and serve hot with toasted bread or English muffin.

Here’s the recipe. Cook happy!

Georgian Borscht

Makes 6 hearty servings

6 medium size beets (2 pounds total)

1 large leek (about 1 pound)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onions (about 8 ounces), peeled and chopped

2 large carrots (8 ounces), peeled, cut in half lengthwise, and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 red-skinned boiling potatoes (3/4 to1 pound total), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch

cubes

4 small sweet peppers, mixed color, (about 1/2 pound total), cored, seeded, and cut

into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 quarts beef, chicken, or vegetable broth

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cups shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 pound)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more if needed

Sour cream or unflavored yogurt, for garnish

Fresh parsley or dill sprigs, for garnish

1. Wash the beets and wrap them tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Set them

on a baking sheet and bake in the center of a preheated 375 degree oven for

about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Cool the beets

in the foil. When cool enough to handle them, peel the beets and cut them into

1/2-inch cubes.

2. Split the leek lengthwise and rinse under cool running tap water to wash

away the dirt. Shake off excess water and pat the leek dry. Thinly slice the white

part and about 1 inch of the tender green portion. Save the dark green portion to

use in stock.

3. The best vessel for this soup is a 5- to 6-quart stainless steel sauté pan. This is

a pan with high straight sides and a 12-inch-wide cooking base that is ideal for

tossing and turning food. I find stock pots or Dutch ovens too confining. But use

any large, heavy pan that you have.

Add the oil to the pan set over medium heat. When hot, add the beets and cook

them for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown a bit.

Add the leek and onion and stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring

occasionally. Add the carrots and garlic and cook about 5 minutes, stirring

occasionally.

4. Toss in the potatoes, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the peppers

and cook another 2 minutes. Add the broth and salt and pepper to taste. If your

broth is unsalted, about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt should be enough. Bring the soup to

the boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Stir in the cabbage and bring borscht

back to the boil.

5. Reduce the heat and simmer the borscht, uncovered, until the cabbage and

potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Adjust the

seasoning carefully with salt, pepper and lemon juice. You can make the soup

ahead and reheat it slowly until piping hot before serving.

6. To serve, ladle the soup — it will be thick with vegetables — into warmed

bowls and place a dollop of sour cream or yogurt in the center. Garnish with the

parsley or dill. Before eating, swirl the sour cream or yogurt into the soup.

Accompany with crusty bread of your choice.

This post is for all subscribers. Please share and leave a comment