7 Days til’ Christmas Countdown: A ultra healthy and super tasty soup commonly eaten in Slavic countries such as the Ukraine, Russia, Poland and Lithuania is Borscht, made using beets and a few other ingredients – it can be eaten both cold and hot – in the Ukrainian tradition, we have our borscht cold, sometimes we eat it with a dab of sour cream and it is the first dish served for Christmas eve dinner.
What You’ll Need:
- 3 – 4 large raw beets
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 2 large potato
- 2 – 3 carrots
- 1 head of cabbage
- white vinegar
- coarse ground black pepper
- sea salt
- low sodium vegetable broth
- bay leaves
- dill
- vegetable or canola oil
- sour cream
Add beets and 10 cups of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for about 1 hour, check to see if the beets are ready – you can test by taking one out (don’t burn yourself, don’t just grab with your bare hands, use a fork and take from the pot, if it cuts easily with a knife then they are tender enough and ready to use). Save the water. Allow the beets to cool, peel and slice into strips. You can use a mandoline slicer for this or simply use a cutting knife. While the beets are cooling, peel the potatoes, dice and add to the same water the beets boiled in. Peel the carrots and add to the same water. Boil for 8 minutes. Shred half of the cabbage and add to the water.
Boil the potatoes, carrots and cabbage for another 5 – 6 minutes. Remove the carrots and slice into matchstick size strips. Sautee the diced onion in a pan with the vegetable or canola oil. When the onion becomes a light golden brown color, add the carrot and 2 tbsps of white vinegar. Mix together.
Chop a bushel of dill, 1 – 1 1/2 cups is fine. Add 6 cups of vegetable broth to the pot. Next, combine beets, potatoes, shredded carrot and onion mixture, dill, bay leaves, sea salt and coarse ground black pepper to the pot. Stir together and allow the soup to simmer covered with all the ingredients for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Make sure the soup is at a very low simmer, you want the flavor and juices of the
vegetables to seep slowly and gently into the broth without the water evaporating. Remove from the heat and allow the soup to steep and cool. Place in the fridge overnight. Soup often times tastes better the day after because the vegetables, seasoning and broth have a chance of infusing one another and blending better.
Being that this is a cold soup anyway, making it the day before and putting it in the fridge overnight makes the most sense. Once you are ready to serve, you can use a strainer lined with a cheesecloth for only the broth (a traditional way this dish is served) or you can simply add the soup with all the vegetables. Whichever way you or your guests prefer – it is a matter of taste and preference. You can add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with a sprig of dill in the center of each serving bowl.
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