To do before starting:
-Make 3 quarts of any broth (I prefer to make it because it's literally free with veggie/bone scraps but of course you can also buy it)
-Pressure Cook and Skin your Beets
1 bushel of garden beets (5-6 medium size beets I should weigh them some time because they very so much in size but you really don't need to be that precise so I never do)
How to cook/Peal the Skin off Beets:
Put in the pressure cooker for 5 minutes with a little water to soften the skins and when they come out cool them a bit and peel the skin off. (You can also get pre-peeled and cooked beets)
-Cook Your Potatoes (6-7 medium golden potatoes- again not precise) if you want to have potatoes in it too. This is a little tip to cut down on cooking time. You can also put your Potatoes in with the beets to cook. We don't usually do this because Brighten has a potato allergy but classic Borscht has potato. Keep in mind that if you're feeding a lot of people it doesn't go very far without this filler.
Ingredients:
12 Cups Broth any kind
6-7 Small Golden Potatoes (Brighty is allergic to Potatoes and it tastes just fine without but if I have people over I’ll separate hers out and add in the potatoes since it makes a great filler. Because of this I like to cook them ahead and set them aside)
4 Carrots Grated (cheese grater style, also we use more carrots if they're smaller garden carrots)
2 Celery Sticks Grated
1 Bell Pepper finely chopped
2 Large Yellow Onions finely chopped
4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (don’t skip this especially if you’re using homemade broth)
Salt to taste (this will depened on how salty your broth is. We use 1 tsp)
5-6 Medium Beets (skinned, somewhat cooked and chopped into very fine pieces)
3 Tablespoons of Finely chopped *Fresh Dill (and more to garnish)
3 Cloves of Garlic smashed through a garlic press or chopped very fine
Pepper to Taste just a few grinds will do
2 Tablespoons Ketchup (we use primal kitchen brand)
2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise optional (we use Chosen Foods Vegan Avocado Oil Mayo)
Directions:
Add Carrots, Celery, Bell Pepper, Onion to a big soup pot and simmer.
Then add in the Olive Oil and Salt.
Sauté it in the bottom of the soup pot until it’s all soft
Then add Beets, Dill and Garlic. *(The dill is what makes borscht borscht in my opinion so DON'T LEAVE THIS OUT!)
Soften a bit and add some fresh pepper.
Add in the broth and simmer for a few minutes
Add in ketchup, White vinegar and Mayo**
**And 1/4 cup of Mayo if you’re really looking to impress your dinner table. Just trust me: do it and don’t tell anyone, I got the idea from the Russian tradition to eat real Mayo on top of the soup and wow. Adds even more of that acid from the vinegar while also adding in more creamy fat flavor (we use Chosen Foods Vegan Avocado Oil Mayo)
Salt again to taste
(This is where I separate out Brightens if we have potatoes for guests. You can also just have potatoes on the side for people to add themselves but they must be fully pre-cooked in this case.)
Roughly cube the pre-cooked potatoes (don’t worry if they’re not 100% cooked) and all them.
This is really the only part of borsch that isn’t chopped into unrecognizable sizes but everything will be unrecognizable no matter the size because it’s all gonna be beet red and beautiful!
Serve with Sprouts (or favorites are Broccoli, Alfalfa or Sunflower), Fresh Dill (lots and lots for me!!) and Sour cream (we use the Kite Hill Dairy-free Sour Cream).
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