Ingredients:
• 3 large beets (or 4-6 smaller beets)
• 1 medium white onion, finely diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• olive oil for sauteing
• 1 cup small diced canned tomatoes
• 2-4 cups chopped, well rinsed beet greens (optional)
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped fresh dill for garnish
• jarred horseradish and sour cream combined to taste
Procedure:
Borscht is a classic, Eastern European soup whose main ingredient is almost always beets. Although it often uses beef and potatoes, this a strictly vegetarian version.
Plan ahead and get the whole, unpeeled beets going in a pot of simmering water. Depending on how big the beets are, they could take anywhere from 1/2 hour to 1 hour to cook.
Once the beets are close to being done, use another large pot with a splash of olive oil to sauté 1 medium, finely diced white onion, 1 large, peeled and finely diced carrot, and a couple of stalks of finely diced celery until they start to soften up.
After a few minutes, add 1 cup of diced canned tomatoes, juice and all. If you bought the beets with the beet greens, it's a good idea to add a couple of handfuls of well rinsed and chopped beet greens at this point, too. Once the greens have wilted, add 4 cups of vegetable stock and bring that to a simmer.
Chop a handful of fresh dill and also make a horseradish sour cream by adding horseradish to taste to a few spoonfuls of sour cream.
To check the beets for doneness, use a small knife. You should be able to easily insert it into the center of the beet. Pour off the hot water and run them under cold water until they're cool enough to handle and then peel them under the cold running water. After that, slice them on a stain resistant cutting board into bite size pieces.
Carefully add the sliced beets to the simmering soup pot and let that cook for another 10-15 minutes to really let the flavors come together.
All that's left is to season it with salt and pepper to taste and ladle it into individual soup bowls. Add a good dollop of horseradish sour cream a healthy sprinkling of fresh chopped dill!
Hints:
If you don't have fresh beet greens with your fresh beets, substitute baby spinach if you like or just leave it out. This soup is great served hot or cold! Smaller beets will cook faster than large beets and, no matter the size, it helps if they are all about the same size so they cook in the same amount of time.