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My dad's flavourful twist on vegetarian Borscht with white beans
Course Soup
Cuisine Eastern European
Servings 12 servings

Equipment

  • 1 5 Litre Soup Pan you can half the recipe if you don't want this much soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup dried white beans soaked overnight, water discarded
  • 3 medium beets, cubed 1/2 inch
  • 3 medium carrots sliced into thin rings
  • 6 medium Yukon potatoes peeled, cut into thick 2 inch cubes
  • 1/2 head of green cabbage cut into chunky pieces
  • 1 bunch fresh dill finely chopped

Podzharka (поджарка) - sautéed onion with tomato

  • 4 medium onions
  • 1 796mL can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1/2 680mL jar strained tomatoes
  • 2 TBSP khmeli suneli This Georgian spice can be found at the Yummy Market, or other Eastern European grocery stores
  • 1 TBSP Kavkazskaya seasoning Core Ingredients: Most commercial blends contain a balanced mix of ground coriander, red chili pepper, sweet paprika, basil, garlic, and mint. If you don't have this blend, you can add 1/4 TSP of each of these separately. This spice can be found at the Yummy Market, or other Eastern European grocery stores
  • 1 TBSP Adjika Adjika is a spicy, aromatic chili paste or dry spice blend originating from Georgia. This spice can be found at the Yummy Market, or other Eastern European grocery stores. You can substitute this spice with 2 tsp sweet paprika + 1 tsp chili garlic sauce. Or about 1 tbsp Harissa.
  • ground pepper and salt to taste
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 Litres vegetable broth
  • 2 TBSP tkemali (Georgian plum sauce) gives borscht a nice sour taste. Can be substituted with white vinegar

Garnish

  • full fat sour cream to garnish
  • rye bread to serve with soup

Instructions

  • Add your soaked/rinsed white beans to a 5L pot, then add 8 cups water and 8 cups chicken stock to the same pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium for 30 minutes
  • If your beans are starting to taste soft (like they are around 70% cooked through), add your 3 diced beets and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. If beans are still very hard then continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes and try them again
  • Dice your 3 carrots and add to the same pot
  • Next, chop the peeled Yukon potatoes into quarters and throw into the pot
  • Next, coarsely chop the cabbage and use your hands to bread up the leaves. Only add the cabbage to the soup once the potatoes are almost ready/soft. In the meantime, make your podzharka (see below)

Podzharka (поджарка) - sautéed onion with tomato

  • Roughly chop 4 medium onions and throw them into a sauce pan with plenty of olive oil (be very liberal with oil so it covers the entire pan nicely)
  • Saute for about 10-15 minutes while you open the whole tomato can and start roughly chopping the tomatoes on a cutting board. Add the chopped tomatoes + sauce, and 1/2 bottle of strained tomatoes to the onion mixture. Use a wooden spoon to constantly mix
  • Now add your spices. Around.2 tablespoons of khmeli suneli, 1 tablespoon of Kavkazskaya seasoning, 3 Bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of Adjika, and 2 tablespoons of tkemali (Georgian plum sauce which can be substituted with white vinegar). Continue mixing with wooden spoon for 8-10 minutes then add the mixture to your big pot of soup
  • When the cabbage + all the other veggies have softened, turn off the heat, and add 1 whole bunch of very finely chopped dill (you can keep the stems just make sure to chop them finely)
  • Taste the borscht for salt and pepper and adjust as needed
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