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.