Borscht

Borscht is a traditional Russian Beet Soup that is delicious hot or cold. As an American, cold soup is a strange idea to me, but it is so refreshing on a hot summer day! This soup is quite affordable and delicious! There are many variations on how to make borscht. This is the way my mother-in-law makes it. Some people add meat, but I love that this is just veggies - nice and light!

Step 1 - Prepare the Beet and Potatoes: 
Wash 1 large beet, cut it in half and immerse it in a pot of water. Heat it to boiling and boil until a fork can easily be inserted into the beet. Remove beet from water (reserve water in pot for later use) and let it cool until it is cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, peel 1-3 potatoes (depending on your preference) and cut them into small, bite sized pieces. Add them to the hot water and boil them until they are softened.

Once cooled, remove skin from the beet and discard (skin will slip right off the beet after boiling). Shred beet in food processor or with handheld grater. Add shredded beets back into the boiling water along with the additional veggies prepared in step 2.

Step 2 - Prepare additional veggies:

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 shredded carrots
3-4 cloves of chopped or minced garlic

Saute onions, garlic and carrots on the stovetop in olive oil until softened and flavors are released. Shred and chop about a half a head of cabbage. I shred it in my food processor and then roughly chop it by hand because you want to make sure that there aren't any pieces of cabbage that are larger than bite-sized.

After adding the additional veggies to the pot, you will need to add additional water to make sure everything is nicely covered with water.

Step 3 - Seasonings and Garnishes:

Add at least 1 tsp of sea salt and a generous pinch of your favorite seasoning blend. (my in-laws use Vegeta, but I don't know how natural that is, so I use Morton's Nature's Seasoning Salt).

When you are ready to serve the soup (hot or cold), prepare the following garnishes to set out on the table. Guests may add any of them to their own bowl of soup and create their own, personalized taste sensation! In my opinion, adding a dollop of sour cream and dill are the two absolute essentials!

Garnishes:
Sour Cream
Fresh chopped dill or dried dill
Chopped green onion
Chopped, hard-boiled egg
Cloves of raw garlic (when we are with my husband's parents we eat this raw garlic on the side with our borscht! It's very good for you.)