Russian Borscht (With beef or vegetarian)

My sister-in-law is Russian and it is always a treat when she decides to make Borscht (the 't' is silent). This time I took photos and documented the process so I could share the recipe on here. All credit to my sister-in-law, Tanya, and her book "Please To The Table: The Russian Cookbook" by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman.

This time she made it using a pressure cooker, so it took less than half the time to cook. If you don't have a pressure cooker, follow the recipe but make everything in a large pot.

Veggies cooking.

Ingredients:

6 T (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 medium-sized beet, peeled and grated
1 small rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 tart apple, cored and cut into 1-inch dice
2 medium-size boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 quarts vegetable stock, canned broth, or water
Bouquet garni (1 bay leaf and 8 peppercorns tied in a cheesecloth bag)
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon sugar, or more, to taste

Liquid removed after cooking the beef.

On the side, for garnish:

Sour cream, or greek yogurt
Fresh dill, finely chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Sliced bread
Salt and Pepper
Cloves of garlic, crushed

First, cook the beef (if using) with 1 c water in the pressure cooker. When done, separate out the liquid stock (~2c) and save the meat. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker pot (or large soup pot) over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and bell pepper and saute until slightly softened, ~5 minutes.

Stir in the cabbage, beet and celery and continue to cook, stirring and tossing occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes.


When all the veggies are soft, stir in the apple, potatoes, tomato paste, and garlic, then add the stock and bouquet garni. At this point you will close the pressure cooker and let it do it's thing (follow the direcitons for your specific model). If using a regular pot, bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Finally, add the paprika, salt and pepper, sugar, and lemon juice to taste. Let stand at least 2 to 3 hours, or overnight. Before serving, remove the bouquet garni. Serve with salt and pepper, fresh sour cream, chopped dill and parsley, bread, and crushed garlic. As Tanya says, it's the final toppings that separate good borscht from GREAT borscht, so add liberally!