Ingredients
- 3-4 beet roots
- 2-3 large carrots
- 2-3 large tomatoes
- 2 potatoes
- 1 small cabbage
- 1 medium onion
- large canned beans (optional)
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 4-5 black peppercorns
- salt, to taste
- cooking oil
- lemon juice (optional)
- minced garlic (optional)
- sour cream
Preparation
Step 1
My mom prefers light vegetarian borsch, but if you want to make it chicken or beef-based, you can use chicken/beef broth as a base for your borsch. When I cook borsch, I try to stick to my mom’s recipe, although she always experiments and every time it’s a little bit different, but still delicious! Don’t forget about sour cream, add sour cream right before serving. Some people add lemon juice and minced garlic which totally depends on whether you like those or not. They say borsch is tastier the next day, an perfect after it stays in the fridge for two days.
My mom boils well-scrubbed beets without peeling them separately in about a liter (quart) of water and then sets the beets aside. The purple cooking water is strained through a coffee filter and becomes the soup base.
Bring the soup base to a gentle boil and add laurel leaves, pe
spices steep with the base for a few minutes.
Add thinly sliced white cabbage and potatoes. Let it cook until
Grate the carrots, dice the onion, rub the skins off the cooked
on your grater.
Mince the garlic, if you are using, depends on taste and you know your taste.
Saute the diced onion and when they are almost translucent add the minced garlic if using and saute all but do not brown. Add grated carrots and beets. Stir from time. When the saute is almost ready add sliced tomatoes and if you like it a little bit spicier, add tomato paste to your taste. Saute for another 5 minutes.
Add the beans and sautéed vegetables to the soup base with cabbage and potatoes already in it. Let it get to the boiling point and turn down the heat right away. The secret of the beautiful bright color of borsch
is not letting it boil or you will lose the color!
Don’t forget sour cream!
Bon appetite! Priy atnogo appeita!