by Varya Sanina-Germroud
I am from Russia, and even though I don’t cook much traditional Russian food, I like that your cuisine offers a variety of soups and salads. The most popular soup is borscht. It is good for any season and can be consumed in hot or cold form. I would like to share this vegetarian borscht recipe. There are many versions and this is the one I use. It is always a huge hit with friends and family, and even my picky 4 year old eats it!
If you wish to make the borscht recipe with meat, you have to cook the meat (any type, except fish, as it would taste funny!) first till it is ready, take it out, use the broth and cut up the meat to add later in the recipe (I will point out where). If you’d like to just add some flavour, you can use Maggie or Knorr cubes. In Russia we love herbs such as dill, parsley and coriander. So you’re welcome to add those as well – they give more flavour to the soup.
Borscht Recipe (Russian Version)
You will need:
– carrot (1 large)
– beetroot (1 medium or 1 canned)
– Potatoes (2 medium)
– Onion (half)
– Garlic (2-3 pieces)
– Capsicum (1 medium: aka green pepper)
– Capsicum (half)
– Cabbage (half sm. head)
– Tomato paste (1 T)
– salt (to taste)
Optional:
turmeric (1/2 tsp)
coriander powder (1/2 tsp) fresh (or dried) dill and/or parsley chopped
white pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
chicken/vegetable stock cube (2)
Process:
1. Peel carrot and beetroot, cut in thin slices. Clean onion and garlic, cut in small pieces. Cut capsicum in small pieces too.
2. In a frying pan heat up some oil with turmeric, coriander and white pepper. Mix in carrot, beetroot, garlic, capsicum and onion. Fry until golden color and then turn off the fire and cover.
3. Put the water to boil. Shred cabbage, then gently squeeze it to let the juice out. Peel and cut potatoes into thin slices.
4. When the water is about to boil, put in the cabbage. Here you add the chicken/vegetable broth cubes if using any. Stir and cover. Boil for 10 minutes.
5. In a small bowl mix tomato paste with some water.
6. Then add the mix of carrot, beetroot, garlic, onion and capsicum into the pot. Mix. Add tomato paste and salt.
7. Cover and boil for another 10 minutes on medium fire. Add potatoes and cook until potatoes are soft. With potatoes you add the pre-cooked meat, if you are using a non-vegetarian recipe. Here is also where you add the other herbs like dill and parsley or fresh coriander.
Serve hot or cold. It taste even better the next day. Serve it with a teaspoon of mayo or sour cream – YUM!
From the time my older daughter was around 2 years old, I let her be with me in the kitchen and she would help me put the vegetables to bowls and help prepare the ingredients. With older children you can allow them to stir and add ingredients to the pot. However, do exercise extreme caution around the stove and hot pot!!!
I hope you enjoy making this simple Borscht recipe. It also freezes well and I had it in the freezer for 3-4 months – tasted great after being thawed and warmed up!
Today’s delicious borscht recipe and guest post comes from Varya, author of “Little Artists.” Varya is originally from Russia, but currently lives in China. She is the mother of 2 beautiful little girls, and also is an ESL teacher and Montessori teacher.
Mmm, I have never tried making this before, but you make it look so simple and delicious! Thank you, Varya!
I agree!!! I never knew what was inside borscht (except the obvious beets!). I can’t wait to make this on a cold day…
This really does sound amazing! Thank you for sharing your recipe, Varya!
Yum, doesn’t it look so good!?
Yum! I never knew there was a vegetarian version of borscht – this looks delicious.
I am realizing that the borscht I’ve had must have been the Polish version, because it was always strained- as thin as a broth. Either way sounds delicious, but I can’t wait to try this new way!
Thank you, everyone! There are MANY versions of borscht. Can’t really say anymore where this soup is originally from. My paternal grandma makes it differently – she is half Polish, half Belorussian. I learned from my mom. In many restaurants it is made with tomato paste, without beetroot and the taste is completely different. Some make it really spicy. Occasionally we add spicy capsicum to give it a little tongue-biting spice 🙂
Oh wow- I had NO idea! I thought it had to be made with beetroot. No matter what, it is delicious:). What does the word “borscht” mean?
Varya just wrote to me: “Borscht comes from bortschevika which is hogweed – the soup made with hogweed is what originally borscht was. If you google, you’ll be told it is originally Ukrainian. But I think it’s more of a Slavic soup, particularly Slavs that populated ancient Russia/Ukraine/Belorussia territory.” So fascinating!