We might lose our foodie card for telling you this, but we don't really like beets very much. There's something about their earthy flavor that's a bit off-putting.
BUT, we love borscht.That earthiness is perfect when combined with dill and vinegar in a sweet & sour soup. And you can fine-tune the amounts of ingredients until it's as beety or non-beety as you wanna be.
Borscht is one of those recipes that is fought over; many people claim their version is the "authentic" one. Fierce debates rage over whether it *must* have beef or cabbage, or whether it should be beets in their simplicity. This one has no claims of authenticity; we just think it's great.
Our recipe is vegetarian, and uses porcini mushrooms to add umami. We add carrots and potatoes for sweetness and contrast with the beets, vinegar and lemon juice for sourness, and finish it with a kick of hot sauce.
One note: Unless you want to have the bloodied hands of an ax murderer when you are through, we strongly suggest that you wear rubber or latex gloves while peeling and chopping the beets!
Borscht
Serves 4 as main course, 6 as an appetizer
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, peeled and diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon dried dill seed or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
4 medium carrots, chopped
2 russet potatoes, about 1 pound, peeled and chopped
1 bunch red beets, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled and chopped
4 cups water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped parsley, beet greens, or carrot greens
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce, plus additional to serve at the table
sour cream, to serve
Soak the mushrooms in 1 cup very hot water for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, and chop finely. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine mesh sieve or a coffee filter to remove any impurities and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large stock pot. Add the onions, and saute until translucent. Stir in the garlic, caraway seeds, and dried dill, if using. Cook, stirring, for a minute, then add the carrots, potatoes and beets.
Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables have started to soften. Add the water, salt, lemon, sugar, vinegar, mushrooms and their soaking liquid, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Stir in the greens and simmer for a minute until they have wilted, then add black pepper, to taste, and the hot sauce.
Serve warm, or let cool and then puree. Serve with the hot sauce and sour cream at the table. 
© 2010 Apartment Therapy
Borscht is the only way my bf will eat beets. (He claims they just taste like a mouthful of dirt if cooked any other way). Gotta try this recipe....
view Michelle of Montreal's profile
Is your cutting board permanently stained? I haven't used fresh beets, only pickled.
view sally599's profile
Ok, that's the fancy version.
My Grandmother's recipe is MUCH simpler and still tasty
A bunch of beets peeled,
half a lemon
pinch of sugar
for garnish
scallions
matzah
cucumber peeled or not, your choice
sour cream
Boil beets until fork tender in just enough water to cover plus a little. When beets are cooked, grate back into the water, squeeze the lemon and add pinch of sugar. Heat over medium till just frothing, take off heat and chill till cool. Top with all of the above. YUM now thats a passover meal!
view shayna's profile
sally599 -
not really. We washed it off quickly. It's slightly redder than normal, and that will fade over the next few weeks.
You could always chop on one of those inexpensive plastic cutting boards, but we vastly prefer the feel of wood under our knife.
I've never made borscht with pickled beets, but it sounds good! I take it you don't add any additional vinegar?
view NinaC's profile
Shayna -
Aha, see that's the fighting spirit over authentic borscht I was talking about! I love it!
I'm betting you like the pure taste of beets more than I do, and so you don't need all of my additions. I like to really try to balance it between sweet/sour/bright/earthy.
view NinaC's profile
Sometimes the nosism just confuses me. Nina, are you the only Kitchen writer who doesn't like beets, or do others share your view?
view Squirrely's profile
My favorite all time borscht is the "Ukrainsky Borshch" from the Sept/Oct 2002 issue of Saveur (alternately titled "Ukranian-Style Beet Soup"). There was a long thread about this on Chowhound at some point.
http://www.saveur.com/article.jsp?ID=38661&typeID=120
The first time I had it was as the main course of a dinner party and it blew everyone away, beet and non-beet lovers alike.
view anablackburn's profile
Ha ha--oh, the royal 'we'! This particular Kitchn writer LOVES beets! Up until last summer, I'd only had the canned kind (why? why? why?), so you can imagine my surprise when a friend forced me to try some fresh from the farmer's market and I loved them!
Nina, I can't wait to try this recipe. Thanks!
view EmmaC's profile
Am I the only one who grew up eating white borscht?
view zelda139's profile
what's not to love about beets? they taste sweet but meaty, they give you the "bloodied hands of an ax murderer", and they turn your pee pink -- miracle food!
our household borscht recipe, from the gf's great-grandmother (an immigrant of uncertain eastern european origins), i believe calls for three kinds of meat (plus plenty of sour cream, of course). i think of it as "i didn't trek across europe, cross the wide ocean, and make my way halfway across a strange country with a strange language so my grandchildren could eat _root vegetables_" borscht.
view SweetTea's profile
Well, that's weird - how can you make borsh without cabbage? That is, like, the main ingredient. And in all the Russian family dinners I have partaken I have not seen mushrooms in borsh. Also - in true Ukranian borsh you do not chop the potatoes - you peel them and put them in whole and let them cook in the broth. And every bowl gets one of a half of one in the middle. And puree - well, that's just French nonsense :)
view verasue's profile