Hefty Borscht Recipes

HEFTY BORSCHT

Steps:

• Heat oil in a 4-quart pot with a cover. Add short ribs and brown on all sides, then transfer to a plate. Pour off all but a film of fat from pan. Add onion, fennel and garlic and sauté on medium until soft. Add cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until cabbage starts to wilt. Add beets, tomato paste, vinegar and celery seed. Stir.
• Return meat to pot. Add bay leaves and stock, adjust heat to a simmer. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours, until meat is fork tender.
• Remove meat. Cut out bones and gristle and discard. Dice meat and return to pot. Reheat, check seasoning, and serve with sour cream or yogurt and potatoes on the side.

BORSCHT II

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, brown beef in oil. Stir in onion and water, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 2 hours, until meat is tender.
• Remove meat from broth and set aside to cool slightly. Stir carrots, celery, cabbage, beets, tomato juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper into broth. When meat is cool enough to handle, cut meat from bone and into bite-size pieces and return to soup. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

THE BEST BORSCHT RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the pot over medium-high heat. Add a little bit of canola oil.
• Cut big, hard chunks of fat off beef, if any. Add beef and bones to the pot and seat for a couple of minutes.
• Add water to the pot and bring it to simmer.
• Add bay leaves, coriander, and whole peppercorns. Lower the heat to low.
• Loosely cover with a lid (so that there is a good amount of room for steam to escape) and cook for 2-4 hours.
• About half way through of cooking meat, add whole, unpeeled beets to the pot. Cook until done, take out and set aside.
• Strain off the stock and discard bones, bay leaves, coriander, and peppercorns. Set meat and beef aside.
• Prepare your veggies: slice onions, mushrooms, and cabbage thinly. Grate carrots on a large grater, and cube potatoes. Peel garlic and set aside. Set whole cooked beets aside to cool.
• Using the same pot, set the heat to medium and add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil to the pot.
• Add onions and carrots and saute until softened. Smash garlic, mince and add to the pot. Stir well.
• Add potatoes and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add cabbage, stir and cook until cabbage softens.
• Add tomato paste, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Stir well until tomato paste is evenly mixed.
• Break apart beef and add it to the pot. Stir and start adding stock. Add enough stock to completely cover the veggies. (You can add more if you want more broth.)
• Cook over medium heat for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Taste to make sure you have enough salt and pepper. Adjust to taste.
• Stir in dill weed.
• Peel beets and grate them into the soup on a large cheese grater. Stir and your soup is ready to eat!
• Garnish with some sour cream and fresh dill weed.

CLASSIC BORSCHT RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Slice the beef into 2-inch pieces and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
• In a large skillet, sauté the carrots, onions and beets in 4 tablespoons of cooking oil. Sauté the vegetables until they are soft (7-10 minutes) and add them into the beef broth. Drain and rinse beans and add them to the pot. Cook the soup for 20 minutes.
• Drain and rinse beans and add them to the pot. Simmer for another 15 minutes.
• Add in the sliced potatoes to the pot and simmer them for another 15 minutes.
• After the potatoes are almost done cooking, add in the sliced cabbage to the pot. Next, add in the ground pepper, salt to taste, vinegar and ketchup. Let the borscht simmer for 10 more minutes.
• Serve the borscht with a dollop of sour cream or mayo. Enjoy!

CLASSIC BORSCHT RECIPE (BEET SOUP)

Steps:

• Peel, grate and/or slice all vegetables (keeping sliced potatoes in cold water to prevent browning until ready to use then drain).
• Heat a large soup pot (5 1/2 Qt or larger) over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add grated beets and sauté 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beets are softened.
• Add 8 cups broth and 2 cups water. Add sliced potatoes and sliced carrots then cook for 10-15 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
• While potatoes are cooking, place a large skillet over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Add chopped onion, celery and bell pepper. Saute stirring occasionally until softened and lightly golden (7-8 minutes). Add 4 Tbsp Ketchup and stir fry 30 seconds then transfer to the soup pot to continue cooking with the potatoes.
• When potatoes and carrots reach desired softness, add 1 can of beans with their juice, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 pressed garlic clove, and 3 Tbsp chopped dill. Simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes and add more salt and vinegar to taste.

HEARTY BORSCHT

Steps:

• 1. Combine all stocks in large soup pot. Add chicken, carrots, celery, and parsnips. Bring to a low simmer until chicken is cooked, skimming the top of the soup to remove "foam" and blood. Chicken is done when juice from chicken runs clear when punctured with a fork. Remove cooked chicken and parsnips, discard.
• 2. While soup base is simmering, wash potatoes and boil with skins on in a separate pot. Potatoes are done when skins begin to crack and is somewhat tender to a fork. Strain and set aside to cool. Once cooled, peel skin (should pull away easily)and cut into 1 inch cubes. Add to soup base after chicken and parsnip have been removed.
• 3. Remove beet stems from beets (set aside) and boil beets until fork tender in another separate pot. Strain and let cool. Once cooled, remove outer layer of beet and slice into "small frech fries". Add to soup.
• 4. Saute chopped onion in small saute pan with 1 tbs. butter until tender, set aside.
• 5. Rinse beet leaves and stems, and chop into 1 inch pieces. In large saute pan, add remaining butter and cook until leaves are wilted and stem is tender.
• 6. Add onion, stem/leaf mixture, sliced garlic, fresh dill and parsley, salt and pepper to taste as well as the white vinegar to taste. Let soup slowly cool on stove to let flavors combine.
• 7. When ready to serve, add a dollop of sour cream and accompany with some rustic, fresh rye bread.

BEET BORSCHT

Steps:

• In a saucepan, bring the beets, carrots, onion, water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add broth, cabbage and butter; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice. If desired, top each serving with sour cream and chives or dill.

BORSCHT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Scrub the beets and put each beet on a separate square of aluminum foil; Use 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and drizzle a little bit over each beet. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Wrap the beets loosely with the foil.
• Transfer the wrapped beets to a baking sheet and roast for 50-60 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the beets cool so they're easier to handle.
• When the beets have cooled, the skins peel off easily. Use a knife and slice off the tip of the beet and carefully pull the skins off.
• Chop up the beets into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside.
• In a large pot over medium heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Put in the onions, carrots, celery and potatoes and cook, stirring until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook for a minute more.
• Add the chicken broth and the beets and simmer until beets are completely tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add the thyme and the allspice and continue simmering for another 10 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, a regular blender will work just fine and puree in batches.
• Blend until smooth, adding more broth if the puree is too thick.
• Stir in the vinegar and honey and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Top with sour cream and serve.

MEATY UKRAINIAN BORSCHT

Steps:

• In a 5-6 quart pot, bring meat and water to boil over high heat. Reduce to simmer and skim of foam. When foam stops rising, add salt, carrot, 1/4 celery root, whole onion and allspice; simmer gently, partially covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat falls of the bone. Preheat oven to 400°F. Scub beets, wrap in foil and bake for an hour, or until just tender. Poke through foil with skewer to check for doneness. Peel beets; shred on coarse side of grater. When meat is very tender, remove, strip off bones, and cut into small cubes. Place in bowl; cover with foil. Strain broth. Rinse out pot. Place pot over medium heat, warm butter, and saute onion 2-3 minutes. Add cubed celery root, parsips, turnips and carrot. Saute 5 minutes. Add strained broth, potatoes and shredded beets. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Just before serving, while soup is simmering gently, stir in garlic and lemon juice. Remove from heat immediately. Serve pipping hot in flat bowls with dollop of sour cream and generous sprinkling of parsley and dill.

RUSSIAN BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the first six ingredients in a large soup kettle or Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute beets in 1 tablespoon oil for 3 minutes. stir in vinegar; set aside. Remove beef with a slotted spoon; cool. Remove meat from the bones; discard bones. Cut meat into chunks; set aside. strain broth, discarding peppercorns and bay leaves. Skim fat. Add enough water to broth to measure 6 cups; return to kettle. Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsley and beets. Bring to a boil., In a skillet, saute onion in remaining oil for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with flour; stir until blended. Whisk into soup. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. add tomatoes. process soup in small batches in a blender or food processor; pour into a large saucepan. Add beef; heat through. Garnish with sour cream.