Borscht

2018-03-30

• 6 tbsp butter
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 head cabbage, shredded
• 8 cups (2 4-cup boxes) beef stock
• 2 14 oz cans pureed tomatoes
• 10 beets, cubed (or if you love work - julienned)
• 1.5 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp salt & pepper

Heat butter in pot. Add celery, carrots and onions. Cook. Add cabbage. Cook some more. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer until done, about 25 minutes.

Serve with yogurt/sour cream and dill.

The original copy of this recipe that I have is dated 2012-10-08 but it does not bear any other identifying markings. Nevertheless, it is a simple and delicious recipe. Here are my notes from 6 years later:

• We also recommend adding some parsley, thyme, and/or a bay leaf.
• For the vinegar we use red wine vinegar.
• 10 beets is a lot of beets if the beets you get are large ones, but not if they are puny ones. Use your judgment.
• Also, most boxed beef stock is only so interesting. Consider adding some beef to make your stock more delicious.
• Finally, there is an unwritten rule that borscht recipe pages must invariably describe the color of the soup using the adjective "violent". All I'm going to add is that you just try cooking 10 beets in a pot and not getting blood-red stains all over the counter next to a bunch of knives.

Violently yours,