Borscht

This soup is really tasty, nutritious, and fairly inexpensive. It has become our weekly winter soup. 

I thought it would be appropriate to post this for Valentine's Day- it is a wonderful pink soup from Eastern Europe.

Serves about 8

Ingredients:

8 cups vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

4 large beets, peeled and chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large potato, peeled and diced

2 cups chopped white cabbage

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 cup sour cream (I prefer plain yogurt)

1 T. finely chopped dill (only necessary for decorative garnish)

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Bring 4 cups of vegetable stock to boil with the garlic and onion in a large, heavy- based saucepan. Add beets, potato and carrots, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours to form a broth.

Next, cool the broth slightly. Chill in pot until cool. Then put in the fridge overnight (this is the key to the depth of flavor). Next day, add the remaining 4 cups of stock, bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Stir in chopped parsley; cook until the cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with generous amounts of salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar. At this stage, you should choose whether or not to liquidize the soup. I love to blend it to a smooth, deeply colored, thick soup! It is absolutely beautiful.

Serve topped with sour cream (and yogurt) and dill.