Whatever recipe, borscht a tasty meal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/09/2010 (5841 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With soup weather sneaking up on us, Gail Crump sent in her favourite recipe for borscht. Winnipeggers love their borscht, but everyone has a different version. Some borscht fans like a beef-based, stick-to-your-ribs soup packed with vegetables. Some favour a creamy pureed soup that looks like red velvet. Others like a clear beet bouillon that can be served as a first course.

My husband’s grandmother made a ginger borscht that used fermented beets. The fermenting process was so pungent that the apartment superintendent once knocked on the door to make sure no one had died, but the soup itself was wonderfully delicate, with a spicy-sweet finish.

A word of warning: Once peeled, beets tend to stain anything they get near, so prompt cleanup really helps.

Please keep the recipes coming in. I’d love to see some recipes for Thanksgiving desserts, while Bonnie Ross is looking for a recipe for date balls and peanut logs like the Wheat Song Bakery on Broadway used to make, as well as spinach and feta muffins that duplicate the Marvellous Muffins version.

If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you’d like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

Gail Crump’s beef borscht

 

500 g (1 lb.) beef soup meat with bone

2 litres (8 cups) cold water

5 ml (1 tsp.) salt

1 onion, chopped

2-3 beets, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

1 stalk celery, sliced

125 ml (1/2 cup) green beans, chopped

500 ml (2 cups) cabbage, shredded

175 ml (3/4 cup) diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes or tomato juice

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

Juice of one lemon

Salt and pepper

Chopped fresh dill

125 ml (1/2 cup) sour cream

 

Cover meat with cold water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Skim the froth that rises to the surface, then cover and simmer for one hour. Remove bones. Add onions and beets and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add carrot, potato, celery and beans and cook for 10 minutes. Add cabbage and cook for 5 more minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, garlic and lemon juice, season to taste with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Stir in dill to taste before serving, and garnish each bowl with sour cream.

 

Taste Tester’s Notes: This is a rich, hearty, warming soup with a beautiful ruby red hue. I used a little beef stock in place of water because I wasn’t sure my soup bones were meaty enough.

Clear borscht (adapted from the New York Times)

 

500 grams (1 lb.) beets, trimmed, peeled and chopped

60 ml (1/4 cup) white vinegar

750 ml (3 cups) water

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

500 ml (2 cups) vegetable or chicken broth

2 bay leaves

Pinch ground allspice

Salt and pepper

Fresh dill

Sour cream

 

In a medium pot, combine the beets, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the beets and reserve the broth. (You can reserve the beets, of course, for all sorts of things.)

In another medium pot, combine carrots, onion, broth, bay leaves, and allspice, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the vegetables and reserve the broth.

Combine both broths, season with salt and pepper, and serve garnished with dill and sour cream, if desired.

 

Taste Tester’s Notes: This is an elegant clear soup that gets a hint of sweet-and-sour taste from the combination of beets and vinegar. The recipe called for a little sugar at the end, but I felt the soup was sweet enough without it. Maybe it’s those gorgeous Manitoba beets.