Polish Borscht recipe (Barszcz)
Since we like to keep our veggies in our beet soup, it’s hearty enough to serve as a main dish along with a good, fresh loaf of really crusty bread.
The most traditional recipes for Polish borscht start by fermenting beets and using the resulting sour fermenting liquid but to simplify this recipe we are using apple cider vinegar to give the soup its characteristic sour flavour.
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PREP TIME 10 minutes
COOK TIME 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME 30 minutes
MAKES 6 CUPS OF SOUP
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp salted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 medium beets, peeled and cut into 1/2 -1 inch pieces
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 2 whole allspice berries
- 1 bay leaf
- 400ml beef stock, (vegetable stock can be used)
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- Pinch salt
- Sour cream and dill, (to serve)
Instructions
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- Melt butter in a large soup pot. Add onion and garlic and cook over m heat, until the onion is soft (5 min).
- Add beets, carrots, celery, allspice, and bay leaf. Stir to coat with butter.
- Add stock and bring to a boil. Cook until the vegetables are tender (10 min).
- Remove the pot from the heat. (If desired, you would strain the vegetables from your borscht now.) Stir the vinegar, sugar, pepper, and salt into the broth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of dill, if desired.