- Tags: Beets, Borsch, Borscht, Cabbage, Forono Beets, January King, Leeks, Seasonal, Seasonal Cooking, Seasonal Eating, Soup
- Cuisine: Russian
- Seasons: Fall, Winter
Once I became in love with the roasted beet, (let’s say 8 years ago) I knew it was only a matter of time when we’d roast a few and add them to our borscht. I’ve been making it this way for awhile now!
Yesterday I received a box of forono beets, January King cabbage, red carrots, dill, and baby leeks. As I was photographing the haul, a beautiful bowl of borscht sprang to mind. I love it when my veggies speak.
During the winter months, I add meat, and enjoy this for dinner with a chunk of sourdough. How do you borscht?
Ingredients
for the beets
- 1 lb beets (peeled and chopped)
- olive oil (long drizzle)
- few pinches salt and pepper
for the meat and soup
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1-1 1/2 lb chuck steak or short ribs (cut into 2-inch pieces)
- 1 tbsp salt (plus more, to taste)
- 250 grams carrots (about 3 medium) (diced or match-sticked or grated)
- 100 grams (about 1 cup) leeks, sliced (or 1 medium onion, diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 tbsp ketchup (or tomato paste)
- 10-12 cups water or other stock (amount depends how brothy you want it)
- 1 bay leaf
- roasted beets
- 200 grams potatoes (1 medium) (peeled and diced)
- 200 grams cabbage (1/2 of a small-med head) (chopped)
- 2 tbsp fresh dill (finely chopped)
- Cooking: 2 h
- Ready in: 2 h
Instructions
- Toss beets with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and place them on a baking sheet. Roast beets for about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Set aside.
- In a dutch oven or soup pot, pour in oil and sear meat on both sides, in batches. Set aside.
- To that same pot, using the oil from the meat, add your carrots, leeks, and ketchup. Saute til they caramelize a bit, then add in your bay leaf, water, salt, crushed garlic, and meat. Let it simmer for 1.5 hours, til meat is tender.
- Add in your beets, potatoes, dill, and cabbage. Simmer for another 25 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
