Borscht or Beet Soup is a traditional Ukrainian dish that I have enjoyed all my life. This is one of the first recipes my mother taught me to make. My mother passed away recently and I felt it was time to share her version of this healthy and tasty soup with the world.

When I asked my mom long ago for her recipe she just looked at me, paused a moment, then said “I don’t know, I just add ingredients until it is done.” She, along with my Baba, many aunts, and other great cooks of generations before me taught me that each meal is unique and recipes (if there is one) are only guidelines. Taste was the key (but be careful of tasting too much and overeating). Well my mom created her masterpiece one day and wrote down directions so I could begin to create my own. Here it is. As mom would say, feel free to make it your way.

Ingredients

2 tbsp margarine

1 onion, diced

1/4 -1/2 cabbage, shredded or chopped

3-4 small to medium potatoes, diced

2 cups carrots, diced

3 cups beets, diced (you may use canned beets but fresh are preferable)

2 cups green beans, chopped in 1/2 inch segments

Canned chicken stock or Chicken in a Mug powder (be mindful of sodium content)

2-4 bay leaves

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped or 1 tbsp dry dill

Salt to taste (can leave out altogether)

Frozen peas

Whipping cream (choose lower fat versions where possible)

1-2 dill pickles (optional)

1 can white navy beans (optional)

Instructions

• In a frying pan saute onions and cabbage in margarine until softened but not fully cooked.
• In a large sauce pan (depending on amount of soup wanted) put water and canned chicken stock (or chicken in a mug) to taste. Add bay leaves and dill. Add cabbage mixture plus potatoes, carrots, beets and green beans to boiling broth. Turn heat down to simmer. (A dill pickle may be added while cooking but take it out before serving.)
• Cook until vegetables are tender then add frozen peas and cook a few minutes more. Remove from heat. Add salt to taste. Stir in whipping cream to taste.

Tips

• My personal preference is to only add the cream individually to taste. I tend to go without cream preferring a deep burgundy soup.
• Vegetable measurements are approximate.  In general plan for the broth to be double the vegetable volume.
• Be generous with the beets. This is a beet soup primarily with the other vegetables adding to the blend. The beets are to dominate giving the wonderful taste and color.

Source: My mother, Aileen Haydey and a bit of influence from my Baba, Maria Haydey, and my mom’s Baba, Magdalena Melnyk.

To your health,

Brent