Cabbage Borscht

Served with dark rye bread this hearty soup makes a soul-satisfying meal. It has the best flavor when it’s made with a combination of beef and vegetable broth, but if you’re a vegetarian, vegetable broth works well, too.

Cabbage Borscht

2016-09-22 11:51:19

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 onions, quartered
4 stalks celery, cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp oil 15 mL
1 tsp caraway seeds 5 mL
1 tsp salt 5 mL
1⁄2 tsp cracked black peppercorns 2 mL
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomatoes with juice, coarsely chopped
3 medium beets, peeled and quartered
1 potato, peeled and quartered
4 cups vegetable broth 1 L
1 tbsp brown sugar 15 mL
1⁄2 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges 1⁄2
1 tbsp red wine vinegar 15 mL
Sour cream, optional
Finely chopped dill

Instructions

1. In work bowl fitted with metal blade, pulse onions, celery, carrots and garlic until finely chopped, about 15 times, stopping and scraping down sides of the bowl once.
2. In a large saucepan or stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion mixture and cook, stirring, until carrots are softened, about 7 minutes. Add caraway seeds, salt and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, beets, potato, broth and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in work bowl fitted with slicing blade, slice cabbage. Set aside.
4. Replace slicing blade with metal blade. Place a strainer over a large bowl and strain soup. Transfer solids to work bowl fitted with metal blade and add 1cup (250 mL) of the liquid. Purée until smooth. Return purée to saucepan over medium heat and stir in remaining liquid. Add vinegar and cabbage and stir well. Return to a boil. Cover and cook until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. To serve, ladle into warm bowls, add a dollop of sour cream, if using, and garnish with dill.

Notes

If you're not a vegetarian, you can substitute 2 cups (500 mL) beef broth for an equal quantity of the vegetable broth. You might also like to add chopped kielbasa to the soup bowls before adding the garnishes.

Judith Finlayson https://judithfinlayson.com/