Ukrainian Borscht

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     Borscht is one of those great fall soups.   This soup is brimming with both vegetables and color, and besides that it tastes delicious. I made borscht  years ago, but this fall we are a host family for a student from Poland.  We have been having a wonderful time sharing our cultures and recipes.  Last weekend we got on the Internet and looked up a number of Polish recipes.  This week for my soup day I made Ukrainian borscht. I got this delicious recipe from About Eastern European Food. The website said that this meatless version of Ukrainian beet soup is served on special occasions.  You can serve this with  warm bread and applesauce.  Our Polish student really liked it and his comment is posted below.

UKRAINIAN BORSCHT
1.  Prepare vegetables:  
(1)  Scrub 3 beets and cut into strips and cube.
(2)  Dice up 1 large onion
(3)  Scrub and dice 1 large potato
(4)  Dice 1 large stalk of celery
(5)  Scrub and dice 1 large carrot
(6)  Soak 1/2 cup of mushrooms
(7)  Mince 2 cloves of garlic 
(8)  Shred 1/2 head of green cabbage
(9)  Peel and julienne parsley root


2.  In soup pot: (1)  Put 2 T of oil and sauté onions for 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more.  (2)  Add 10 cups of water (3)  Then add potato, celery, carrots,  mushrooms, cabbage, and parsley root and bring to a boil.  (4)  Add spices:  1 T salt, 3 peppercorns, and 1 bay leaf(5)  Reduce and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
3.  Adding more ingredients to the borscht in the final stages of cooking:  Add 2 T vinegar/lemon juice, 2 T tomato paste, 1 T dill, 1/2 t black pepper and cook 5 more minutes.  Taste and adjust any seasonings. 
4.  Garnish with sour cream.  Note:  You can cut up some lemon wedges so people can squeeze a little more into their soup if they want it to be more tangy.  I also had a bowl of parsley to sprinkle on top. 


List of My Favorite Soups, Chili & Stew Recipes: 

Vi's Best Chili

Texas Cowboy Stew

Chinese Chicken Soups:  Bok Choy Chicken Soup, Chicken & Spinach Soup, & Chinese Cabbage Soup

This is the best Minestrone Soup!

Hearty Pea Soup

Ukrainian Borscht