I shall follow on from the Love your Liver theme. This month’s recipe is full of nutrients that will make your liver hug itself with joy. Beetroot and cabbage are amongst the long list of foods that your liver loves, so I thought what better time to share this wonderful Russian Borscht recipe with you.

Note: From start to finish, this recipe takes about 2hrs. Boiling the beetroots takes around an hr. I tend to boil them the day before and store them in their juice in the fridge.

Russian Borscht (beetroot soup)

Ingredients

  • 2 large or 3 medium beetroots
  • 2 large or 3 medium potatoes – peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 medium onion – chopped
  • 2 carrots – grated
  • 1/2 head of purple cabbage (white also works) – Finley shredded
  •  380g of cooked kidney beans or a 400g can kidney beans in water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.5  litres water plus an additional 900ml broth
  • 3 tbsp tomato purée
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped dill

Method:

  • Fill a large soup pot with about 1.5 ltrs of water. Add beetroots. If you’re using organic beetroots, you can boil them with the skin on otherwise, wash and peel them first. Cover and boil for about 1 hour. Once you can smoothly pierce the beetroots with a butter knife, remove them from the water and leave to cool. Keep the water
  • Add 900ml of chicken or vegetable broth, lemon juice, pepper, bay leaves to the same pot
  • Peel and slice 3 potatoes into bite sized chunks and boil 15-20 minutes
  • When potatoes are half way done, add the thinly shredded ½ cabbage to the pot
  • Grate both carrots and dice the onion. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to a frying pan and sauté vegetables until they are soft (6-8 minutes). Once almost cooked, stir in tomato purée and sauté for another 2 minutes
  • Next, peel and slice the beetroots into match sticks and add them along with the cooked kidney beans to the pot
  • Add sautéed carrots and onion to the pot along with chopped dill.
  • Cook another 5-10 minutes, until the cabbage is done
  • Serve with a dollop of sour cream (optional).

Tip:  This soup tastes great fresh but it’s even better the day after!!! When cooled and stored properly, this soup will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Enjoy,

Kaysha Thomas