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Vegetarian Borscht
I am the only person in my house who eats beets. When I really crave them, I make borscht. I first ate borscht when my sister Heidi made it when I was younger. She cooked it from some hippie paperback cookbook that’s long since been lost. I’ve tried meat-based borscht in restaurants – and even made it once – but there is a cleanness and purity to vegetarian borscht that feeds my slightly Eastern European soul.
Serves 4
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 small onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 small head savoy or napa cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
- 3 red beets, peeled and shredded
- 3 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 3 potatoes, unpeeled, cut into small cubes
- 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can (14.5 ounces) chopped tomatoes
- 8 cups water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- A few sprigs fresh Italian parsley or dill
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 dried or fresh bay leaves
- Salt
- Plain yogurt and fresh dill sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the water, vegetable bouillon, lemon juice, herbs, cloves, bay leaves, and salt to taste and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Remove and discard the cloves and bay leaves.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Serve topped with a spoonful of yogurt and sprinkled with the dill.
Reprinted by permission of Maria Rodale from Scratch: Home Cooking for Everyone Made Simple, Fun, and Totally Delicious (Rodale Inc., 2016). Visit mariarodale.com.
Photograph by Con Poulos.
Published in the Journal of Health and Healing™
Spring 2023 | Volume 47, Number 1
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