It is fall and I have beets.
I wish to make borscht.
I cannot find a good recipe that makes deep red, vegetarian borscht that is not too sweet. Some recipes have meat; others have sugar; others look pale, with just a tint of pink.
I want thick, red borscht! Thick enough to float the sour cream!
You can follow any classic borscht recipe, simply substituting, veg stock, broth or base… granules or soy, MSG for the meaty aspect. Simply make it a substantial beet, potato, and cabbage soup… the break down of the potatoes helps with body. I suppose you might want to use butter if you are not adverse to that… need the bit of animal fat if you even want to come close, you could even start the soup with a butter and mire poix roux for the thdickness you demand… A dash of vinegar to finish. Puree a 1/4 of the soup and add back… another alternative
Maybe instead of the vinegar in a vegetarian version you could add some drained sauerkraut.
The recipe I have is very good and has no added sugar (beyond what’s in the beets themselves, of course), but it calls for beef. You could probably substitute vegetable stock, though. Want it?
sure!
Here’s the one my Ukrainian roomie taught me when I was studying in Russia; even without the meat, it’s pretty substantial. You’ll get a deeper flavor if you roast the beets first, and also if you sautee the onions and carrots etc. before you add the water and simmer. Best eaten with a blob of sour cream mixed in.
Post it! I have some beets in the fridge and want some veg borscht as well.
Our family, being Polish, generally do a very thin, clear red borscht. However, one tip we have–and you may or may not like this–is to use pickled beetroots and the pickling liquid for some of the base. (Technically, we use something called a “beet sour,” which is fermented beets, but pickled beets will work, and I imagine devilknew’s suggestion of sauerkraut would work well, too.) However, this is if you like a tart, sour borscht (which is my preference.)
Oo, interesting - I just made some pickled beets a few weeks ago. I’ll have to try that.
What I would do is make borscht to your favorite recipe, and then add pickled beets and beet juice to taste (or even just the beet pickling liquid.) We like our quite tart. The traditional way we make the sour for our barszcz is to cut two pounds of beets into slices, put it in a stone crock or glass jar, cover with water that has been boiled and brought down to about 120F, throw in a clove or two of garlic and the crust from a slice of rye bread. Cover with cheesecloth. Put in a warm place for 3-5 days, until it reaches the level of sourness you like. Use this as base for your beet soup. But, as I said, you have to enjoy sour soups. We also do pickle soup, sauerkraut soup, and something called white borscht or zurek, which is also made through a similar fermentation process as above (except with just rye flour.) Basically, these are all sorts of “sourdough” soups, utilizing lactic acid bacteria to provide the sourness.
I now have red fingers and a contented tummy!
I made borscht according to Eva Luna’s recipe this evening - it was very good - thanks for the recipe! Mrs Piper came home from work, through the snow and grey, and was met by a warm, borschty smell as she entered the door. There’s nothing like hearty soup on a cold beginning-of-winter day!
I just took out the smoked shank from the freeze. I think I will make bean soup.
The Great Northerns are soaking.
Really simple white bean soup with carrots, celery, onion, and potato. Smoked Hock, and cornbread.
Had some more for supper last night - got even better being a couple of days old. Thanks, Eva!
I finally got a Mennonite cookbook from my mom - let me know if you want a sour cabbage soup, old fashioned sauerkraut borscht, cabbage borscht, sauerkraut borscht, kumst borscht, or summa borscht recipe. 
(Mennonites don’t really do beet borscht - they focus more on ham and cabbage-y soups.)
Here’s a question, might be the best place for it.
What is borscht supposed to taste like? I’ve had it only once (purchased at the farmer’s market) and it really didn’t taste anything like I imagined. It was really earthy, extremely so. I thought it would be a little sweeter in taste, closer to how the beets taste when I pluck them from the garden and cook them with a little butter.
I’m pondering trying to make it myself and see if I get a different result…
Err, I only had it once, but it was beefy, earthy, savory, and a bit tangy. I made it with my Belarusian friend, and she got the recipe from her grandmother.
My grandfather has tried to give me my grandmother’s borscht recipe. He was raised by Ukrainian parents so one would think he knew his borscht. My super picky mother talks about it fairly often too.
I just need to get over the fact that it’s beets. I love soup. I do not love beets.
Mmmmmm summa borscht. Though it’s really not a coming in from the cold of winter soup.