It’s Valentine’s Day, which means the internet is saturated with romantic stories and pink food. I was chiding myself for not saving my red velvet cake until today, when I realized that I actually had the perfect festive dish in my archives- a Valentine’s Day borscht!
On a Saturday night in January, I made borscht for the first time. I’ll admit, when friends texted me to see what I was up to and I responded “Making borscht,” they were a little confused- I guess because 1) I was making soup on Saturday night in my pajamas and 2) it seems like borscht is not exactly winning the popularity contest for soup. It’s honestly too bad, because look a little further and borscht has a lot to offer. For one, it’s beautiful (do you know another fuchsia soup?), it’s extremely hearty (a meal in one!) and it’s easy to make. Also, it tastes delicious! So wipe that smirk off your face- borscht is the unsung hero of soup.
We finally got some snow this week on the east coast, after a relatively precipitation-free winter thus far, besides a few false alarms. So, may I suggest you make some borscht? All you will need are some beets, potatoes, cabbage, a few root veggies and a cheap cut of beef. Some dill, obviously, and a sizable dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche. But somehow, together it makes something really fantastic that will warm you from the inside out.
Russian food (and Eastern European food more broadly) gets a bad rap, but I think no one does cozy winter food better than the Russians (and for good reason). So this weekend, put away your chicken noodle soup supplies and get in on this eastern classic, even if peeling beets does make your hands look like part of a crime scene.
Ingredients
- 10 cups water
- 3-4 lbs. lean beef (shank, chuck, soup meat)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch strips
- 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into strips
- 1 large leek, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 7 medium-sized red beets, peeled and cut in strips + 1 large beet, grated
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 lb. cabbage, shredded
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon minced dill
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Place meat and water in a heavy soup pot and bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Add salt, pepper, carrot, parsnip, leek and celery. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
- Saute 7 beets in butter until shiny. Add to mixture and continue to simmer gently for 1 1/4 hours, gradually adding cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Remove meat and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return to pot.
- Hold remaining grated beet in a sieve over the soup pot and pour 3 cups of soup over it to give borscht a bright color. Discard beet.
- Add vinegar or lemon juice, garlic and dill. Taste for seasoning. Serve with sour cream on the side.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2019/02/14/russian-borscht-nabokova/
