Russian Borscht

Growing up, borscht meant a fuchsia colored beet broth that was really not appealing even though the color was. It was eaten cold with some boiled potatoes and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why my mom loved it.  As a newly married wife, I wanted to cook some of Greg’s favorite childhood food and I asked him what he wanted for dinner. When he said “borscht” I was like “ewww”. Greg is Russian and apparently the borscht he grew up with was very different than the one I knew. I googled some recipes and was surprised to discover that it was more like a meat vegetable soup with some beets in it. I thought “I could eat that!” This Russian Borscht requires very little prep some but does require some advance planning. It tastes even better after it’s in the fridge for a few days.

For all you borscht haters: Don’t knock it till you try it. Trust me, it’s really really good! Serve it with some warm crusty bread slathered with sour cream and you have yourself a really filling meal.

I forgot the potatoes but don’t worry I added them at the end.

As you can see, I used a disposable pan to save cleanup time

Shredded beets

Sauteed veggies with shredded beets.

I just love the colors!

Russian Borscht

Quick and easy Russian Borscht. Meat and vegetable soup

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Russian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 lbs of chuck steak Any meat the requires a long time to cook is fine
• 2 medium sized beets
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 bag of shredded carrots
• 1 bag of shredded cabbage
• 6 cups of beef broth you may want to add a bit more if you like your soup a little thinner
• 4 medium potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 bunch of dill chopped
• salt and pepper to Taste
• Sour cream for serving

Method

 

1. The day before:
2. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Cover and bake in pan at 300 for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the meat is soft.
3. Wash beets and wrap in foil. Bake at the same time as the meat and place on a pan to catch any drips.
4. Let the beets cool and gently rub off the skin. Grate the beets using the large holes of a box grater
5. Break the meat into bite size pieces and refrigerate the meat and the beets.
6. The next day:
7. Fill a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
8. On a medium heat, fry the onions until translucent.
9. Add the carrots and cabbage and sauté for a few minutes until slightly softened.
10. Add grated beets, meat and any juices accumulated in the pan and bay leaves
11. Add 6 cups of beef broth.
12. Simmer for 40 minutes to an hour until vegetables are soft.
13. Add potatoes and cook another 15 minutes.
14. Add chopped dill and turn off the pot
15. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and warm crusty bread