Though the red borscht originated in Ukraine, it is very popular among its neighbors. Each region has its own recipe, but the common ingredient is always a beetroot. The recipe I want to share today would be different from others because it doesn’t have potatoes. Try my recipe and you would be pleasantly surprised how my borscht is delicious and easy to cook. Besides, since there is no potato, it has fewer calories.
Ingredients:
- ½ lb beef (I prefer boneless)
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 2 medium beets
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 medium carrot
- ½ medium or 1 small yellow onion
- ½ red bell pepper
- 2 Tbsp sunflower oil (can substitute with other oil like olive or grapeseed)
- 3 Tbsp tomato sauce
- 1/2 medium head cabbage (about 1lb)
- 1 tsp mixt seasoning (I use 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe’s. It has everything in it 🙂 )
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup cilantro or parsley (I like cilantro, but as I know people either love cilantro or hate it. If you don’t like it, substitute it with parsley)
Cooking Directions:
- Place the meat washed in cold water into a soup pot and fully fill it with water. Just checked my soup pot: it’s 3 quarters. It serves 6 portions.
- Bring it to a boil. Remove the foam crud. It will start to pop up to the top as soon as it just starts boiling. Make sure to remove all the crud until it’s fully boiling. Add 1 Tbsp of salt, lower the heat, cover with а lid, and let it slowly boil for half an hour.
- In the meantime, peel and grate into separate dishes beets and a carrot. I like when vegetables are grated using a mandoline grater with long strips. It gives a special structure and, I believe, taste to the borscht. But if you don’t have one, you can grate with a box grater using the medium holes grater side. Peel and finely chop half of the onion. Peel a bell pepper. Cut half of it into thin strips.
- Add one tablespoon of white vinegar to the grated beets. It would help to keep the red color of the beets and also would make the soup a little bit sourer.
- Place the beets in a skillet, and add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (you can substitute with any other oil). Turn the heat on highest and saute for 2 minutes mixing with a spatula to make sure the beets are thoroughly covered with oil and evenly sauteed. Do not let them burn! Add carrot, onion, and red bell pepper. Saute for 2 more minutes on high heat, then turn the heat on the lowest, cover it with a lid, and let it cook for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, add 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce, mix all together, cover, and let it cook for another 5 minutes. Then turn it off.
- While broth is slowly boiling and vegetables are slowly cooking, shred cabbage finely with a mandolin slicer or a very sharp knife. Add the cabbage to the broth, turn the heat to high for some time until starts boiling, then turn it to lower again. Cover and let it cook for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, add seasoning, freshly ground black pepper, a bay leaf, and, finally, cooked beets with vegetables. Bring it to a boil and turn it off.
- Once the heat is turned off, add peeled and pressed garlic and chopped cilantro. Stir with a spoon. Cover and let it rest for 15-20 minutes to enhance flavors.
Serve hot. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro (or parsley). My son likes the borscht without sour cream. You can experiment, too 🙂
It would taste even better the next day!