Borsch



The only way I have eaten beetroot is in salads but this Russian beetroot soup gives a new dimension to a great vegetable. If you don't want to cook the beet from scratch use a pre-packed cooked supermarket version which saves time and bother.


2 large or 3 medium beets, thoroughly washed
2 large or 3 medium potatoes, sliced into bite-sized pieces
4 Tbsp of cooking oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, grated
1/2 head of cabbage, thinly chopped
1 can kidney beans with their juice
2 bay leaves
1.5pts of water
1.5pts of chicken stock
5 Tbsp ketchup
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp chopped dill

Fill a large wok with 1.5pts of water. Add 2 – 3 beets. Cover and boil for about 1 hour (some beats take longer, some take less time. It depends on how old the beets are). Once you can smoothly pierce the beets with a butter knife, remove from the water and set aside to cool. Keep the water.

Slice 3 potatoes, add into the same water and boil 15-20 minutes.

Grate both carrots and dice one onion. Add 4 Tbsp of cooking oil and saute vegetables until they are soft (7-10 minutes). Stir in ketchup when they are almost done cooking.

Thinly shred 1/2 a cabbage and add it to the pot when potatoes are half way done.

Next, peel and slice the beets into match sticks and add them back to the pot. When you peel beets, use a plastic bag over your hands to avoid red fingers.

Add 1.5pts of chicken stock, lemon juice, pepper, bay leaves and can of kidney beans (with their juice) to the pot.

Add carrots and onion to the pot along with chopped dill.


Cook another 10 minutes until cabbage is done.

Serve with sour cream or mayo drizzled on top. Serves 6