Borscht (Beet and Cabbage Soup) Favorite

Hello Borscht lovers.

OK, so - Borscht- it’s a soup every Russian person and their grandma makes, and they all make it different. I know people that don't add beets, some omit onions, make it with chicken and not beef, or just keep it vegetarian. Yu guys, everyone makes their borscht unique to their family traditions and taste. I love the way I make mine.

My mom made it the same most of the time. She loved to put the cabbage in at the last second, making the soup have a fresh bite. She ate it as soon as it boils after she adds the cabbage, but, I like to wait till the next day after I make it. All the flavors marry together and I just go nuts with a good white buttered piece of bread at my spoon side. Perfection, with a few cloves of garlic to nibble on between bites. Oh and lets not forget the necessary dollop of sour cream on top. My husband does a dollop of mayo. I must say, I found that odd, and then I tried it! So good you guys!!!

OK, so this recipe was never written down. Just a type of soup you throw stuff in and the it’s amazing. I did take my time and write down what I used and the amounts. so here we go:

Borscht Recipe

• 1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

• 1 1/2 -2 lb beef ( you want some marbling in your beef chunks, I used Wagyu stew meat)

• 1 large yellow onion

• 1 large carrot

• 1 celery stalk

• 3 beets (shred)

• 1 small head of cabbage

• 4-5 potatoes

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste

• 1 tsp seasoning blend, I use the “21 Seasonings Blend” from Trader Joe’s, you can use any blend that you like. No need to buy something extra

• 1-2 bay leaves

• 1/4 tsp paprika

• 1/4 tsp ground coriander

• 6 cups (chicken or beef) stock, or bone broth in your freezer if you have it. Just sayin…

• 1 package of frozen peas. Here’s the part that my mom changed up a bit, depending what she had. It was either a red bell pepper, a can of red beans, or peas. I love the peas and so do my boys, so we do it that way

• Dill- never too much dill with borscht! I use an entire bunch.

• sour cream, an amazing bread, and garlic to serve

Find the largest pot you own and melt the butter. Add beef and brown on all sides. To the bottom of the pot add the tomatoes paste and cook it for a sec. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery, salt, pepper, cook for about 5-10 min. Add half the stock and cook for about an hour.

Add half the shredded beets to the pot along with the potatoes, bay leaf, coriander, seasoning, and paprika. Cook for about 30 min, or till the potatoes are cooked.

Now add the remainder of the beets, and all the cabbage. Bring to a boil and taste. Add more seasoning to taste. Add dill at the very end and turn off the heat.

I like to make this soup at the beginning of the day so it can sit and just get all the flavors happy. Then at dinner time, I reheat it, and serve piping hot with sour cream, bread and garlic.

My dad would take the garlic clove and rub our bread with it when we were little to make us strong :) All the time with Borscht.

So, now I do it with the boys. Simon seems to love the garlic. My entire family loves Borscht. I try to make the biggest pot I own so it an last me two days. My boys devour it in a day. I gotta get a bigger pot.