Gold Medal Russian Borscht
 
 
Ingredients
  • 6-8 fresh beets
  • 1/2 large red onion, dice
  • 4 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 cups cabbage, thinly slice
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 tsp dried dill weed
  • 2 x 900 mL beef broth
  • 1 russet potato, raw and diced
  • 6 slices bacon, diced and fried
Garnish:
  • sour cream
  • fresh dill
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
  2. Line a small baking dish with foil, snip off the leaves leaving 1 inch intact. Then scrub your beets, pat dry and place in the prepared dish. Cover with foil and crimp edges to seal shut.
  3. Roast for 45 minutes, check for tenderness by piercing with a metal skewer. Continue to cook until the skewer slides through easily. Remove from the oven, take off the foil cover and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, either slide off or gently cut off the out layer of skin. Remove the stem and long tip. Dice and set aside.
  4. Meanwhile, add the tablespoon of olive oil to a large dutch oven or soup pot. Set over medium-high heat and add the vegetables from onion through to the cabbage. Stir and cook until the vegetables begin to soften and gain some color. In the last few minutes of cooking add the garlic and season with salt and pepper and ground allspice. Continue to cook for another minute.
  5. Add the dried dill weed, broth, beet chunks, potato chunks, and bacon and continue to simmer the borscht until the potatoes are fork tender.
  6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a garnish of fresh dill.
Notes
We served this with sausage and pierogis, but this soup would stand on its own as a complete meal.
Recipe by Just a Smidgen at https://justasmidgen.com/2014/02/15/gold-medal-russian-borscht/