Valentines Day is coming up and though borscht doesn't sound too romantic or sexy, its vibrant pink colour makes it a great option for a valentines day meal or appetizer. Just avoid saying the word borscht and it will work wonderfully.
Gypsy Boots Trail |
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Prep Time
20 minutes |
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Cook Time
45 minutes |
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Total Time
65 minutes |
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Ingredients
- 3 beets, grated
- 3 small-medium yellow potatoes, diced
- 3 small-medium beets
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 sticks of celery, diced
- 1 large tomato, grated without skin (see notes for how to do this easily)
- 1 small cabbage, grated
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 medium yellow, sliced
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
Directions
- In your soup pot, over medium heat, cook carrots, celery and onions in olive oil until onion starts to become translucent
- While these are cooking, add grated beets, sugar and lemon juice to a large frying pan or medium sized pot and add just enough water to cover beets
- Bring these ingredients to a boil and then reduce heat, allowing them to simmer for 5-10 minutes, until beets are cooked
- To cooked onion, carrots, and celery, add grated tomato, tomato paste and garlic, continuing to cook on medium heat for another 2 minutes
- By now beets should be cooked, add them to the soup pot with the other cooked ingredients plus kidney beans, potatoes and cabbage
- Fill the rest of the soup pot with water, bring soup to a boil, lower to a simmer and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through.
Notes
- Substitutions and additions are easy with borscht, add other vegetables like bell pepper or broccoli at either the carrot and celery stage or the potato and cabbage stage of the recipe
- To easily grate a tomato without the skin being grated, slice the tomato in half (from top to bottom) and begin grating each half on the cut side. The skin will split and pull back as the flesh is grated.
- The kidney beans in this recipe can be swapped out for another bean or lentil of your choice, the important thing for me is just always having a little extra in a soup to fill me up and give me a protein boost.