Borscht (Beet Soup)

CHILI SPICE's Note:

My husband's heritage is Ukrainian, he grew up eating borscht and still loves it. If you would like to make this Vegetarian or Vegan, just omit the meat and/or the sour cream (I do and we aren't vegetarians). My husband rates this as one of his favorite soups I make (5 stars)! I cook this one Vegan style.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 1 (16 ounce) package pork sausage (optional)
• 8 cups low sodium vegetable broth or 8 cups beef broth
• 3 large beets , peeled and diced small
• 3 carrots , peeled and shredded
• 3 medium baking potatoes , peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• ¾ cup water
• ½ cabbage , cored and shredded (medium size)
• 1 (8 ounce) can diced tomatoes , drained
• 5 garlic cloves , minced
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (or to taste)
• ½ cup sour cream , for topping (optional)
• 1 tablespoon parsley , chopped for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until no longer pink. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Fill a large pot halfway with broth and bring to a boil. If using sausage add to broth, and bring back to a boil. Add the beets and cook until they have lost their color. Add the carrots, potatoes and garlic, simmer until tender (about 15 min). Add the cabbage and the can of diced tomatoes.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender. Stir in the tomato paste and water until well blended. Transfer to the pot. Simmer another 5-10 minutes, and adjust seasoning (salt, pepper and sugar) to your liking. Cover, turn off heat and let soup stand for about five minutes.
4. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with sour cream and fresh parsley.

Reviews

[Autsayder]

I absolutely hate to only give this recipe 3/5 stars, but this just didn't do it for me. I had made borscht before and didn't like it, but was determined to give it another try with a different version. I guess now I know for sure that I don't like beets. I must say though, this borscht had such a lovely color! Aside from the beets, the other flavors blended together so nicely. You couldn't even really taste the beets unless you got a chunk on your spoon. Better luck next time, I suppose. Thanks for sharing!

[Julie B's Hive]

Never had it before but always wanted to try it. Fabulous thick soup which I made as posted including the pork sausage. I most likely will make this again but leave the sausages out next time. Great recipe! Made for the Aussie/NZ RS#39, the ANZAC Biscuits.

[MarthaStewartWanabe]

Wow! This soup is great and tastes exactly like the Ukrainian Borscht from one of my favorite local restaurants. I made the vegetarian version and used all vegetables picked fresh from my garden. It has a mild beet flavor with undertones of garlic, tomatoes and onions. I LOVE this soup but have never attempted to make it until now. DH has never tried it and was a bit skeptical (especially since it was such an intense color of fuchsia), but he was sold at first taste. I made so much that I brought containers to work to share with other borscht lovers. Every year, my German family has our own version of "Oktoberfest" where we cook all sorts of German foods and enjoy a variety of beers. Even though this is a Ukrainian recipe, I KNOW it will be a big hit with them. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe.