Borsch - Beetroot Soup
A hearty warming soup, classically Russian and extremely delicious served with rye or pumpernickel bread. This version is vegetarian but you could add bacon, pork or sausage at the beginning. Borsch comes in many varieties all authentic to a family or region but all contain beetroot as a base making the soup a deep purple.
Preparation time: 20 minutes Quantity: Serves 4 Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
2 pints chicken or veggie stock
1 large potato - peeled and small dice
1 large carrot - peeled and small dice
1 clove garlic - crushed
1 large onion - small dice
1 celery stick - small dice
2 large beetroot - raw peeled
1/2 tin/ 100g broad beans
200g / 8 oz tomatoes - skins removed
and chopped
150g /6 oz green cabbage - finely shredded
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
4 tablespoons sour cream
Method
- Bring the stock to the boil
- Add the, potatoes, carrot, garlic, onion, celery and the whole peeled raw beetroot
- Simmer for 40 minutes with a lid on
- Add the beans, tomatoes and cabbage
- Simmer for a further 15 minutes
- Remove the beetroot and grate
- Put back in the soup
- Leave covered for 10 minutes to the side before serving
- Serve with a sprinkle of dill and a dollop of sour cream