Borscht

This recipe is for a good, vegetarian-style borscht, not short on flavor, but plenty nutritious. I guess the color of this soup always scared me just a bit, even though I do like beets. But a few people have asked me about a recipe for Borscht, so I looked into it. I found a few things out in the process. Like, I don't feel real comfortable making one of the typical components in authentic Borscht: The "Kwas" (or "Kvas", as some would say). It's a fermented rye product, along the lines of beer, you could say, although it's made from rye. You can use rye flour or rye bread, along with some water (and some recipes call for a pinch of yeast). You let the rye mixture ferment for days, pouring off the water to ferment some more, adding it to the soup to give it its characteristic twang.

I may experiment more with that in the future, but for now I recommend that you, too, might want to forgo the brewing of "Kwas". One recipe suggested buying already-brewed Kwas, but I suspect it wouldn't be commonly carried at your average grocery store.

Another discovery was that I didn't really prefer adding homemade sauerkraut to the Borscht. It definitely added a twang, but perhaps too much so. It was fun, though, slicing up a cabbage, sprinkling well with salt, adding a bit of water and keeping the cabbage weighted down with a plate (so it'd be submerged in its juices/water), in a crock in the kitchen for five days or so. It seemed to turn into authentic sauerkraut, which many would claim is a healthful food full of beneficial beneficial bacterial cultures. I just didn't really love it in the Borscht.

Another element often added to Borscht is: Beef broth and even chunks of beef. This would give you a heartier soup with even more flavor, but the following recipe is the one I finally came up with to satisfy my own cravings for some wholesome, Vegetarian-style soup, full of flavor. I think this one fits the bill for that.

Borscht

This vegetarian version is still quite hearty, and serves 4-6.

Bake an hour or more (depending on size), at 375°, wrapped in foil, until tender: > 2 medium-sized beets

After beets cool, prepare by skinning and julienning. Set aside.

Cook in water to cover: > 2 potatoes, diced > 1-2 carrots, diced

Grill in olive oil: 1 c. or so slivered cabbage

In small soup pot, add grilled, tender cabbage, and: > 1 TBS. rye flour (or substitute white flour)

Add, bringing to a boil, boiling 2 minutes: > Vegetable broth from cooking the veggies, plus more water if necessary

Mix everything together: > The cooked cabbage/broth > The cooked potato/carrots > The julienned beets > salt to taste > ¼ tsp. toasted caraway seeds > 2 tsp. white vinegar

Serve topped with sour cream and dill weed.

___________________________________________________________

Shop at PCCuisine: Healthy cooking supplies, gifts for cooks, and more.

Order Jen's cookbook At Winepress Books.

Get recipes at pccuisine.com

___________________________________________________________