Red Dawn Vegetarian Borscht
I can’t remember the first time I had borscht. My mom, the Southern lady with a knack for Jewish cooking, is a beet fiend. I was probably a little wee thing when I had my first spoonful of beet soup, and I’ve been happily slurping it down ever since.
I’ve had a lot of borscht since then. I took three years of Russian in college, and I spooned up many bowls of buffet line borscht while listening to poetry readings I could only half understand.
I’ve only recently started making borscht myself, but I’m not sure why it took me so long. Borscht is old-fashioned peasant food. Like a lot of peasant food, it’s a hearty, inexpensive dish that gives you a lot of nutritional bang for your buck.
There are many different variations of borscht out there. Hot and cold, chunky and shredded and blended, with potatoes and cabbage or without. Sometimes it has little chunks of beef in it, and it’s often made with beef broth.
For me, borscht is all about the beets. I could take or leave the meat. I make my borscht with lots of beets and red cabbage, along with thickly sliced mushrooms for some meaty chew. I use red cabbage instead of the usual green to give the soup an extra punch of color. Borscht is good hot or cold, and it’s even better the next day.
This vegetarian borscht is a perfect use for that quart of homemade vegetable stock you’ve got stashed in the freezer. If you don’t care about making the soup vegetarian, chicken or beef stock would also work. You can even use plain water if you’re in a pinch.
The amount of herbs called for in this recipe is quite small, but the herbs do really make the borscht taste like borscht. Unless you’re a caraway or dill fiend (I am a dill fiend), I recommend shopping for these spices from the bulk section of your supermarket so you can purchase just the amount you need.
This soup would go very well with potato piroshki or a slice of toasted black rye bread.
Wolverines!
Red Dawn Vegetarian Borscht
makes about 8 servings
3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
4 medium carrots, chopped
1 package of cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 bundle of beets, peeled and diced
half a red cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
1 quart vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream or plain yogurt, for topping
Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the the garlic, carrots, dill, and caraway seeds and sauté until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Add the cabbage, beets, and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the quart of vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream or thick yogurt. If you opt out of the dairy topping, this is a vegan soup.
