achan's tasty beet soup
Ingredients
- 16 oz Jar Pickled Beets (reserve liquid)
- 1/2 Head of Cabbage(red or green) cut into thin strips
- 20 oz beef broth (optional)
- 1 Medium onion, diced
- 4 ribs of celery, coarsely chopped
- 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and diced
- 4 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced
- dill weed
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- clean water
Method
- Simmer potatoes until soft in enough salted water to cover the potatoes plus one inch
- While waiting for potatoes Prepare the rest of the vegetables as above
- On low heat in a LARGE pot cook onions and garlic until onions are more or less clear
- Add carrots celery and cabbage, stir, add broth if desired, otherwise just add enough water to cover
- When the potatoes are done, drain half the water away, reserve the rest, put potatoes and their water in the pot
- Add beets and their liquid, and vinegar, top off water if necessary so all the vegetables are covered
- Bring to a boil, simmer 25 minutes, Season to taste
- Before serving, in a heatproof bowl, mix 1/2 cup sour cream with soup stock gradually until the sour cream becomes warm, stir into soup
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with dollops of sour cream and chopped dill, serve with dark grainy bread and butter
Serves 6
Note: I was inspired by
xdjio's borscht a couple of days ago. This recipe was improvised using two other recipes from epicurious.com as a starting point. I used beef broth because both recipes called for it, but the flavour of the vegetables is really overpowering, so I don't think it's needed. You can get away with just water but you'll have to add more salt.