Hi everyone, its Natasha of Natashaskitchen.com and on today's episode I'm so
excited to share with you our borscht recipe. This is one of our family's
favorite soups. Its flavor packed and so good for you.
It's best to have all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go which makes this
soup super easy and carefree. Peel and slice your potatoes into bite-sized
pieces then transfer them to a bowl of cold water to keep them from discoloring.
Next, finely chopped two ribs of celery, then finely dice one medium onion and if
you have any great tips for chopping an onion without the tearing effect, please
let me know in a comment below.
Now finely chop 1 small red bell pepper and you can omit it if bell
peppers don't agree with you, but they do add great flavor.
Peel and thinly slice two medium carrots, then on to our final bit of prep
with the beets. I always recommend using gloves when handling beets so it doesn't
stain your fingertips red. Slice off the ends and use a regular potato peeler to
peel off the skins. You can slice the beets by hand into matchsticks but it's
so much easier to use a food processor with a grater attachment, this way it
just grates the beets up super fast and keeps your hands and workstation clean.
Place a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add two tablespoons
of olive oil, then add the grated beets and saute for ten minutes stirring
occasionally until the beets are softened. Now add four cups of low-sodium
chicken broth and 6 cups of water. Drain your potatoes and add them to the pot.
Then add sliced carrots. Bring that to a low boil and continue cooking for 10 to
15 minutes, or just until the potatoes
are easily pierced with a fork. While the potatoes are cooking, place a large
skillet over medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of oil. Add the chopped
onion, celery and bell pepper and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened and
lightly golden, or about seven to eight minutes. Then add four tablespoons of
ketchup and stir fry for about 30 seconds, then transfer to the soup pot
and continue cooking with the potatoes.
Once the potatoes and carrots reach their desired doneness, add one can of
beans with their juice. Now we add all the wonderful flavorings. We have two bay
leaves, two to three Tbsp of white vinegar, or to taste, a teaspoon of sea
salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Then press in one large garlic clove and add
three tablespoons of freshly chopped dill. Let that simmer for another two to
three minutes, then add more salt and/or vinegar to taste.
Oh my goodness! This brings back so many sweet memories of my mom cooking in the
kitchen and she made the best borscht. And I learned from the best. And we're
gonna do the taste test because I am so hungry.
Alright, so while it's nice and hot, we're ready to serve. Wow! And the color is just
so beautiful and striking. This borscht is flavor packed and it's also so good
for you - tons of veggies and protein with the beans. It's delicious. Okay and to
serve it I always add a big dollop of sour cream, or you can use Mayo if you're
feeling like you need a few extra calories in your life. But seriously
though, Mayo is really good, so you should try it sometime.
Okay, but we're gonna use sour cream today... generous dollop and garnish with a
little more fresh dill. It's so pretty. Alright and I'm gonna pick up this bowl
because the last thing you want on your clothes is beet juice. That can be a
booger to get out. Okay, here we go.
That right there my friends is old-school comfort food and it seriously
tastes just like my mom's. And the best part is - my kids love this and it's so
good for you. It's loaded with tons of veggies - the beets are a great source of
iron. Then you get a little protein with the beans and then everything else. This
is delicious! Such an impressive soup to serve for a
party, especially if your friends have never tried this before. It is gorgeous,
gorgeous and so good. And when I serve this, I love to make these little French
baguette toasts. I basically just slice up a French baguette, butter both sides
and saute it on a skillet and it gets like this crispy crunchy... you heard that.
My family fights over these, so I always serve this with borscht. Let me know
which camp you're on. You guys love sour cream or mayo? Let me know in the
comments below and I hope this becomes a new favorite for your family. If you like
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Channel and we'll see you next time. Hey, before you go, if there are any recipes
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