Beetroot Soup

Name: Beetroot Soup (Borstj)
Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients: 5-6 beetroots (beets), total weight 500 g/1¼ lb; 3 carrots, total weight 250 g/9 oz; 1 cabbage wedge, total weight 300 g/11 oz; 3 potatoes; 2 onions; 45 ml/3 tbsp tomato purée (paste); 15 ml/1 tbsp sugar; 60-90 ml/4-6 tbsp smetana or crème fraîche; 60-90 ml/4-6 tbsp smetana or crème fraîche; chopped fresh dill, to garnish; 4-6 lemon wedges, to serve; 1 kg/2¼ lb beef on the bone; 2 litres/3½ pints/8 cups water; 1 carrot; 1 parsnip; 1 piece celeriac; 1 onion; 2 bay leaves; 4-5 black peppercorns; 2-3 fresh parsley stalks; 5 ml/1 tsp salt

Borstj

Preparation info

Serves
4-6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Recipes from My Russian Grandmother's Kitchen

By Elena Makhonko

Published 2015

About

This famous soup is the centre and highlight of the Russian meal. There are many versions of the recipe, which are often passed on in the family, and the young, who gladly follow the advice and tips of their grandmothers, are taught to cook it from a very early age. The secret behind a good borsht is the home-made stock and the high quality of the root vegetables that are used.

Ingredients

Europe
Russia
Soup
Gluten-free
Low fat
High fibre
Low calorie

Method

Energy 127kcal/535kJ; Protein 4g; Carbohydrate 20.2g, of which sugars 17.7g; Fat 4g, of which saturates 2.3g; Cholesterol 9mg; Calcium 60mg; Fibre 5g; Sodium 143mg.