Thursday, August 23, 2012

Borscht - Poor Mans Beet Soup

borsht, borsh, or borscht served with egg and garnished with chives


From the posts I read on our Facebook page, not many folks care for beets.  They probably just haven't had them served the right way!

Today I pulled from the garden the pitiful "sampling" of beets which had grown, a couple of onions, and an itsy-bitsy garlic. Exactly what I needed to make one of my favorite all time soups. Borscht.  I come from a Slovakian heritage and many of the foods we grew up with seem to be not very appealing to most folks. But thats ok.  As a kid, beets were one of those foods that had found its way into our home time and time again.  Like an echo in my head, I can remember my grandmother would always tell us "how beets were good for your blood and overall health".  Today, my only guess would be she was referring to the high iron and mineral content which would mainly be attributed to the fact that it is a root which we consume.
beets from urban garden
"These are the beets which I pulled from our garden less the beet greens."

Beets are the main ingredient in this recipe.  These are the beets which I pulled from our garden less the beet greens.  I am not particular of the greens mainly due to their bitter tasting flavor, but the chickens thoroughly enjoy them. Some folks like to boil the greens and eat as a side to main course.

chickens eating beet greens as a treat
"I am not particular of the greens mainly due to their bitter tasting flavor, but the chickens thoroughly enjoy them."


There are not many ingredients needed for this recipe other than the beets and all can be sewed in your urban garden.  The other ingredients are as follows:

Beets
(2) Small Onions cut into small chunks
(2) Cloves of garlic sliced into little pieces
(2) cups of beef broth (I used 2 bouillon cubes and dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water)
Salt and Pepper to flavor


ingredients for making borscht soup
Not many ingredient needed for this soup

how to make borscht soup
Warm beets, onion, garlic and salt and pepper in a sauce pan without browning.


There is no right or wrong way to prepare this soup.  How I make it is as follows:

1. Combine all ingredients in a deep sauce pan less the beef broth and warm for 5 minutes.  Do not brown.

2.  Add the 2 cups of beef broth and let simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. Turn off heat and carefully pour into a blender.  Puree the mixture to a broth-like consistancy.

5. Garnish with fresh cut chives and add a hard boiled egg.

Enjoy and Na zdravi ~ Kevin

2 comments :

  1. I prefer my borscht to be a little thicker, which could be easily done by adding 2 cubed potatoes to the pot before simmering, then removing 1/3 of the finished soup, immersion-blending the remaining and then returning the "chunky" 1/3 back to the pot OR by adding 1/2 cup of sour cream to the soup before blending. I had it your way, however, and the flavor was DEELISH! Thank you!

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