Classic Borscht Recipe Beet Soup Food

CLASSIC BORSCHT RECIPE (BEET SOUP)

Steps:

• Peel, grate and/or slice all vegetables (keeping sliced potatoes in cold water to prevent browning until ready to use then drain).
• Heat a large soup pot (5 1/2 Qt or larger) over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add grated beets and sauté 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beets are softened.
• Add 8 cups broth and 2 cups water. Add sliced potatoes and sliced carrots then cook for 10-15 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
• While potatoes are cooking, place a large skillet over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Add chopped onion, celery and bell pepper. Saute stirring occasionally until softened and lightly golden (7-8 minutes). Add 4 Tbsp Ketchup and stir fry 30 seconds then transfer to the soup pot to continue cooking with the potatoes.
• When potatoes and carrots reach desired softness, add 1 can of beans with their juice, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 pressed garlic clove, and 3 Tbsp chopped dill. Simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes and add more salt and vinegar to taste.

BORSCHT RECIPE (BEET SOUP)

Steps:

• Add olive oil to a soup pot and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot add in the beets, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. Stir to combine.
• Cook for 10 minutes to slightly soften the vegetables.
• Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
• Pour in the beef and the vegetable broth and add the bay leaf. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the beets and carrots are tender.
• Discard bay leaf. Stir in the fresh dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Taste and season with the desired amount of kosher salt and black pepper.
• Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

CLASSIC BORSCHT RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Slice the beef into 2-inch pieces and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
• In a large skillet, sauté the carrots, onions and beets in 4 tablespoons of cooking oil. Sauté the vegetables until they are soft (7-10 minutes) and add them into the beef broth. Drain and rinse beans and add them to the pot. Cook the soup for 20 minutes.
• Drain and rinse beans and add them to the pot. Simmer for another 15 minutes.
• Add in the sliced potatoes to the pot and simmer them for another 15 minutes.
• After the potatoes are almost done cooking, add in the sliced cabbage to the pot. Next, add in the ground pepper, salt to taste, vinegar and ketchup. Let the borscht simmer for 10 more minutes.
• Serve the borscht with a dollop of sour cream or mayo. Enjoy!

BEET BORSCHT

Steps:

• In a saucepan, bring the beets, carrots, onion, water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add broth, cabbage and butter; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice. If desired, top each serving with sour cream and chives or dill.

BEEF AND BEET BORSCHT

Steps:

• Cook beef shank in a large soup pot over high heat until browned, about 3 minutes per side; add water, onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook until meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Strain broth and discard solids.
• Combine beef broth, beets, and cabbage in a large soup pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until beets are tender, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar, salt, and black pepper.
• Serve garnished with sour cream and dill.

BORSCH (((AUTHENTIC UKRAINIAN CLASSIC BORSCH)))

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the diced bacon or panchetta in a Dutch oven or stockpot and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat, until the fat begins to render, about 3 minutes.
• Add the beef and continue to cook, stirring, until the beef is brown on all sides, about 6 minutes.
• Remove both meats from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• Add the onions and carrot to the fat in the Dutch oven or stockpot and stir to coat.
• Cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add the garlic, oregano, dill seeds and bay leaves and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add the red wine vinegar and stir to deglaze the pot.
• Return both meats to the pot and add the water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beef is tender, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, place the beets on a baking sheet and brush with the oil.
• Roast until tender and can be pierced easily with a fork or knife, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
• When the beets are cool enough to handle, trim the stem and root ends and remove the skins.
• Coarsely grate or chop and set aside.
• When the meat is tender and falling apart, add the beets, potatoes, cabbage, parsley, tomato paste and celery salt or seeds and simmer over low heat for another 30 minutes.
• Season with additional red wine vinegar, salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar to taste.
• Ladle borsch into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of fresh dill.
• Also, serve with Russian black bread.

BORSCHT

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cover the beets with cold water by l inch. Stir in 1/4 cup of the vinegar and 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, cool, and peel the beets. Dice the beets and set aside.
• Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the celery, leeks, garlic, and caraway seeds and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes.
• Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot with the beets, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes to bring the flavors together.
• Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons vinegar and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Season with pepper to taste. To serve divide among warm soup bowls, top with dollops of the sour cream and sprinkle with the dill. Serve with additional vinegar at the table.

VESELKA'S FAMOUS BORSCHT

Steps:

• To make the "beet water," roughly chop 2 pounds of the beets (select the smaller ones), preferably in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Place the chopped beets in a large stockpot. Add 10 cups of water and 1 tablespoon vinegar.
• Place the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. (If it seems like the liquid is evaporating too quickly, you may need to cover the pot partially with an offset lid.) The beets should be extremely soft and the liquid bright red.
• Strain the liquid, pressing the cooked beets against the side of the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp or reserve. Set aside the beet water. You should have just about 4 cups.
• Meanwhile, place the remaining 1 pound of whole beets in a separate large stockpot. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beets are tender-firm, about 40 minutes. When the beets are cooked, add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and set them aside to cool.
• When the whole cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them; the skins should slip off easily. Grate the peeled beets on the largest holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the grating blade.
• To make the broth, place the pork butt in a large stockpot and add the beef stock. If necessary, add a little more stock or water to cover. Add the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the meat is tender and beginning to fall apart, about 2 hours. Set the pork aside to cool. When the pork is cool enough to handle, remove it from the pot and cut the meat into ½-inch cubes. Strain the broth and discard the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Reserve the cubed meat and 4 cups of the broth.
• To cook the vegetables, place the carrots and celery in a large stockpot and pour the reserved meat broth over them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the carrots and celery are just tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage and potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes and carrots are easily pierced with a pairing knife but keep their shape, 15 to 20 additional minutes. Add the lima beans and cook for 5 additional minutes, just to meld the flavors. Gradually add the remaining 7 tablespoons white vinegar, tasting between additions and stopping when the flavor is to your liking. Remove the soup from the heat and set aside.
• To compose the soup, in a large soup pot combine the "beet water" and meat broth with the vegetables. Add the cubed pork and the grated beets. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over low heat. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately.

BARSZCZ (CLASSIC POLISH BORSCHT)

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine the beets, bones, carrots, parsnip, onion, leek, celery, garlic and bay leaves, plus the mushrooms, peppercorns and marjoram, if using. Top with 14 cups water. (There should be enough water to cover all the ingredients.) Bring to a boil over high.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. As it cooks, use a small ladle to periodically skim off and discard any foam, impurities and fat that have risen to the top of the pot.
• Transfer the 3 whole beets to a cutting board to cool. Strain the soup through a colander set over a large bowl. Remove the bones and press the solids to extract all the liquids, then strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium saucepan.
• Once they're cool enough to handle, chop the reserved whole beets into small 1/2-inch cubes. Stir the diced beets into the soup and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat soup over medium until warmed, then stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve very hot in small bowls or even large teacups, which you can pick up and drink. If desired, serve with a spoonful of sour cream. Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.

A BETTER BORSCHT (BEET) SOUP

Steps:

• Place pork hocks in a stock pot and cover with 6 cups cold water (or enough to really cover them. Cover and place over fire until the hocks come to a boil.
• While this is coming to a boil, chop your onions, celery, carrots and beans.
• When the pot has boiled there will be a lot of foam at the top of the pot, Pour everything out and rinse the pot and meat well, then move to step 4. This is so that you don't have floaty things in the soup later (personally I often miss this step and don't mind the results at all). If you decide to miss cleaning everything just move straight to step 4 right away. Otherwise, you need to add 6 cups (or more, you need enough to cover them) clean cold water before step 4.
• Add the garlic, seasonings and the chopped vegetables.
• Bring the pot back to a boil, turn down and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the pork hock is loosened and tender.
• Remove the pork hock from the pot and cool. Return the stock to the fire and continue simmering until you've moved to the next step. While the pork hock is cooling, chop the potato and prepare the first four beets.
• To prepare the beets, peel them, cut them lengthwise in half (through the stem and top), turn cut side down and slice into 1/8" thin slices across the width of the beet. Lay the slices down and cut these into 1'8" slices across the width of the beet. This method gives the prettiest presentation.
• Add the potato to the pot and return the soup to a slow boil, then add the beet slices. DO NOT LET THE SOUP BOIL ONCE THE BEETS ARE ADDED OR IT WILL LOSE IT'S COLOR.
• While this is coming up to heat, clean the pork hock and return them to the pot. Make sure to get all the ugly bits and fat, but leave the meat as whole as you can, better to shred it in you bowl! Trust me!
• Leave this to simmer very slowly until the potato is cooked and the beets are tender. Meanwhile, chop the beet stalks (if they are tender) and the leaves; and peel and grate the final 2 beets.
• Add the peas and tops/leaves to the pot. When the peas are cooked add the grated beets (this is more to thicken the soup and add back any color that may have been lost before; and also DH loves the addition of shredded beat to this cause that's the way his mom made borscht). Continue to cook VERY SLOWLY.
• Once everything is tender you can finally add the dill and 1/2 teaspoon of sour salt. Tasting is important here, I usually add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of sour salt myself, but I prefer it a bit sour.
• I taste all the way through because I love the way the flavor builds, but it is very important at the end. Adjust the dill, salt and sour salt carefully, with some practice you'll find a soup that everyone loves.
• Add more water if this soup begins looking dry, but it is a thick soup so doesn't require a lot of broth - cream will be added at the table.
• You can park the soup overnight in the fridge and remove all the fat that rises the next day. This soup is excellent on day 1 but even better day 2, and healthier when the fat is removed.
• The broth shouldn't be sweet (the sweetness will happen with every bite) and it should have a bit of a sour tang (I like mine quite sour)and a taste of dill (and quite dilly). The soup SHOULD NEVER be salty because the meat may call for some seasoning in the bowl.
• This soup is better the next day, and may be put in jars and canned (10 minutes in a water bath) or frozen (but I find the beans go off when it's frozen so would leave them out in this case).
• Add sour cream or whipped cream at the table as a garnish. More fresh dill is pretty and tasty as well.
• Ask my friend Katlin - he loves this soup!

ROASTED BEET AND POTATO BORSCHT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet, toss together beets, potatoes, shallots, thyme, and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast until beets and potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes.
• Discard thyme. Add vegetables to a medium pot along with broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook to heat through. With a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon, mash some vegetables until soup is thick and chunky. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls; top with sour cream, scallion greens, and parsley; serve.

RUSSIAN BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the first six ingredients in a large soup kettle or Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute beets in 1 tablespoon oil for 3 minutes. stir in vinegar; set aside. Remove beef with a slotted spoon; cool. Remove meat from the bones; discard bones. Cut meat into chunks; set aside. strain broth, discarding peppercorns and bay leaves. Skim fat. Add enough water to broth to measure 6 cups; return to kettle. Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsley and beets. Bring to a boil., In a skillet, saute onion in remaining oil for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with flour; stir until blended. Whisk into soup. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. add tomatoes. process soup in small batches in a blender or food processor; pour into a large saucepan. Add beef; heat through. Garnish with sour cream.