Borscht

On my last shopping trip I purchased some beets and hoped to make them into Harvard Beets, a sweet and sour version of cooked beets. I boiled the beets in order to peel them but never made the dish...so I put the cooked unpeeled beets in a large zip bag and put them into the fridge. In a day or two, another recipe came to mind with all the lovely ingredients I had in my fridge. I had trouble finding a recipe for borscht in my cookbooks so went to the net to locate some borscht ideas. There were plenty. My intention was to incorporate any tasty ingredients I had on hand and use 2-3 recipes for a guide.

Make sure you have a large soup pot ready, and prepare the following:

• 1 large tin of white beans (I used Romano)
• 6-8 beets, boiled and peeled and cubed
• 4-6 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/2 head of cabbage sliced (I used both chinese and purple)
• 6-8 cups water
• 3-4 potatoes diced (I used up leftover baby potatoes)
• 1 large white onion peeled and diced
• 2 sweet bell peppers
• 2-3 stalks celery diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 litres chicken broth (low sodium, no fat version)
• 1 1/2 cups V-8 juice
  
• 1 tablespoon essence
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 tablespoon dill weed
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• fresh ground pepper
• sour cream

I like to bring out the natural sweetness in the vegetables, so cooked them in a pan until tender.

Using a bit of olive oil in a cast iron frying pan, I cooked the cabbage, onions, celery and carrots and garlic, then the beets and peppers with some dill and pepper.

































Put the liquid ingredients into the large soup pot, add the potatoes and beans, then add the cooked veggies.
















If your pot is too small, don't over fill it but use more than one pot if need be. My picture shows a too full pot and I eventually brought out another pot to handle the volume.

Simmer the soup for about 2 hours. I used a hand blender to puree the soup. Cool the soup before storing in containers in the freezer. Remember to label and date the containers!

Serve with a dollup of sour cream if you like.