Borscht

The secret to this delicious soup is to roast the beets first, then let the cool and grate them along with the other root vegetables. This was the PERFECT soup for our 2014 Winter Olympic Russian Meal.

6 medium beets

1 small head of cabbage, cored and shredded

1 small turnip, unpeeled and grated

1 medium parsnip, unpeeled and grated

2 carrots, unpeeled and grated

2 onions, chopped

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

8 T. butter

4 oz. tomato paste

8 oz. beef tips or stew meat, chopped small

1 whole head of garlic, cloves peeled and minced

2 T. beef base

8 cups of beef stock

lemon juice, to taste

salt and place pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Sour cream and fresh dill for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and wrap the beets tightly in foil. Line baking sheet with foil and pierce the beet packages with a knife and place on baking sheet. Roast for an hour or so until softened, remove from oven and allow to cool to the touch.  Unwrap and hold each beet under running water.  The skins will slip off easily. Grate the cooled beets and set them aside for a bit.

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and add the grated parsnips, turnips, carrots and chopped onions.  Saute until the onions are translucent  and the root vegetables begin to soften.  Reduce the heat to low and stir in tomato paste.  Let cook for 2 minutes.

Add stock and beef base to the vegetables and then add cabbage and potatoes. Reduce to simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.  Add 3/4 of the grated beets and the cubed beef.  Continue to simmer, partially covered, for about 40-45 minutes.  If it's too thick, you can add more beef stock or a little water.

Stir in the remaining beets, garlic and lemon juice.  Taste and see if you need to add a little salt and/or pepper.  Simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped parsley.

Garnish with sour cream and fresh dill.

Adapted from www.girlsguidetobutter.com