After my last recipe I still had some components of my Hollygrove box left over, including some beautiful candy cane beets. It was raining yesterday, so I thought soup sounded good, but I knew the candy cane beets wouldn’t give the same beautiful color that purple beets do in traditional Borscht. But then I thought, “Hey who am I to say these guys aren’t beautiful! Who makes the rules around here? I do.” So here we are with pink-ish Borscht.

Borscht is a soup from eastern Europe, but you can find it in a lot of Jewish delis in the states. It’s made from purple beets, so it usually has a very intense purple color. Traditionally, it’s made with beef or chicken broth and can have bacon in it, so it’s hard to come across vegetarian Borscht unless you make it yourself. Here goes!

Peel and cube the beets. What was I thinking that this wouldn’t be as beautiful as Borscht made with purple beets?? Look at these babies!

Dice two carrots and an onion and toss those in with the beets.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the veggies, season with salt, and cook until they are soft, about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a smaller pot over medium heat combine equal parts veggie stock and water and dissolve in a bit of tomato paste. Tomato paste is going to give this soup some help with color as well as a punch of umami. Umami is the meaty or satisfying flavor of food. The chemical components are found most often in meats, but they are also in tomatoes and mushrooms. I recommend getting a resealable tube of tomato paste to add umami to any of your vegetarian dishes.

Stir in the stock mixture to the vegetables.

Add a generous handful of cabbage and bring the soup to a boil. Would it be an eastern European recipe with no cabbage?? I think not.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes and season with a squeeze of lime juice, salt and pepper.

Borscht is usually served with a dollop of sour cream, but I went with greek yogurt to get the same creaminess with a healthier edge. Top with chopped parsley and enjoy!

Vegetarian Borscht 

Serves: 4

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

1 lb beets, peeled and diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 large white onion, diced

2 T olive oil

5 oz shredded white cabbage

3 cups water

3 cups vegetable stock

1/2 T tomato paste

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Greek yogurt (garnish)

Chopped parsley (garnish)

 

In a large soup pot warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the beets, carrots and onions, and cook until softened, about 5-10 minutes. In a smaller pot, combine water and vegetable stock over medium heat. Once warm, dissolve in tomato paste and add to cooked vegetables. Bring to a boil and add cabbage. Lower the heat and simmer soup for 15-20 minutes. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Top with a dollop of greek yogurt and chopped parsley to serve.

Enjoy!