Borscht

sing some gorgeous pink and white striped, bulls-eye style beets (not sure about the variety) and purple-skinned carrots from the garden, I made a soup that I've only recently learned to love - borscht. The beets were so incredibly sweet and awesome, but because they were mostly white inside, the resulting soup wasn't the signature garnet red I hoped to achieve. I was afraid the crazy long boiling process would leave everything a mushy, starchy mess in a bowl, but I was happy with the resulting texture, particularly when I added the customary dollop of sour cream.

However, this recipe was something of a dud, in that it really lacked depth of flavor. I could keep salting it, but that's not the answer here. The beet flavor was perfect, but the "broth" (water the roots boiled in) only made for sad, thin bath water. My instincts tell me to:

a) substitute chicken stock for the water
b) roast the carrots, beets, potatoes and even the cabbage
c) incorporate garlic - sauteed with the onions, roasted with the veg, or both

The only real change this makes is that the soup stops being vegan (fine with me) by adding the chicken stock - for the record, it was upgraded to vegetarian when I added sour cream.



Borscht I
courtesy of DeeDee, printed on allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ready In: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
Servings: 8
"Only one medium beet is used in this recipe for a meatless vegetable and cabbage soup which will serve a large group."
Ingredients:
6 cups water
3/4 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper,
divided
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium beet
1/2 cup canned peeled and diced
tomatoes
3 potatoes, quartered
1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
3 cups finely shredded cabbage, divided
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup diced potatoes
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Place water, salt, carrots, 1/2 of the bell pepper, celery, beet, tomatoes, and quartered potatoes in a large stock pot over high heat. Bring to a boil.
2. Melt 1/3 cup butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Saute onions in butter until tender, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup of sauce from skillet, and set aside. Stir half of the cabbage into the skillet with remaining sauce, and continue simmering 5 minutes more, or until tender.
3. Remove beet from boiling liquid and discard. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon or tongs, and place in a bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the cream. Mash together until smooth.
4. Return the 1/2 cup of reserved onion-tomato sauce to the stock pot. Stir in diced potatoes, and simmer until just tender but still firm, approximately 5 minutes. Increase heat to a low boil, and stir in remaining cabbage, tomato sauce, and mashed potatoes. Reduce heat and simmer a few minutes more. Stir in remaining bell pepper, season with black pepper, and serve.