by Naked Beet
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10 cups
water
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2 tablespoons
grapeseed oil
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1
large onion, finely chopped
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1
bay leaves
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3
medium sized beets
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2
medium sized carrots
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1
large potato (1 yukon or 2 small red)
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1
celery stalk, cut into thin moons
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1/4 bunch
fresh dill, minced
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1/2-1
whole lemon, juice of
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2-3 teaspoons
salt
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dash
freshly ground pepper
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12
whole juniper berries (optional)
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1-2
cloves of garlic
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1 tablespoon
sour cream (per bowl)
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Set your pot of water on low heat. Add in 1 tbsp of oil, chopped onion, bay leaf and juniper berries. Peel the beets and cut them into halves if they’re small enough or into thirds or quarters if they’re very large. You want them to be of relatively equal size. Drop them gently into the water as you continue working on the rest of the vegetables.
Ask the hotline about this step!Peel and cut the carrots into rounds, and for the potatoes, cut them into 1/2″ size cubes or small chunks. (I prefer my vegetables small as I find they distribute a lot better into individual bowls.) Add them to the pot as they're ready. Then add the chopped celery and the juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon. Bring your heat up and cook the soup until a fork easily pierces through one of the larger beet pieces; this should take about 15 minutes on medium low heat.
Ask the hotline about this step!While the beets are getting tender, you should skim the soup from some of the foam that will form. By doing this, you will inevitably be taking out some of the oil along with it. Once you’ve skimmed it, put in an additional 1/2 tablespoon of oil.
Ask the hotline about this step!Once your beets are done, scoop them out of the soup (bringing back into the pot any vegetables that might have clung to the beet) and let the beets cool for 2 minutes so you can handle them more easily. At this point, you can turn the pot to low heat. I’d advise wearing gloves for the next part so you don’t have to take beet stains off your hands. Using the large holes on your grater, shred your beets. Once you’ve grated all the chunks, carefully put all the shredded beets back into the soup pot and let this cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Ask the hotline about this step!The soup should have a sweet tart taste. After the 10 minutes, add in the dill and taste the soup to adjust flavors accordingly. Add salt, a tad of pepper, and if the soup is still too sweet for you, another tablespoon or 2 of fresh lemon juice. Remember that if your soup is very hot, you will not taste the actual level of salt, so err on the side of less, as each time you reheat the soup, it will get slightly saltier. This soup is the perfect example of melded flavors getting better in the following days.
Ask the hotline about this step!Notes: Serve hot or cold, with sour cream or not, but eat this with black bread. If you want to make the soup a bit spicier, add thin slices of garlic to the soup before serving. If you want just a hint of garlic, then rub a cut clove over the crust of your bread. In the Winter, if you want to experience an even more authentic Russian meal, serve this soup with a side of mashed potatoes topped with sardines. Let the juices of the sardines drip into the butter- or milk-mashed potatoes. If you cook this in the Summertime, omit cooking with juniper berries and use a topping of cubed persian cucumbers or a hard boiled egg split in half.
Ask the hotline about this step!If you can't get good lemons or you want to give this soup even more acidity (fresh beets are sweet!) cider vingar is definitely the way to go, nice addition and so glad everyone at your office enjoyed it!
Made it and shared at the office. Everyone liked it! I added a dash of cider vinegar because I'm used to beets/greens with butter and vinegar. I'll make it again.
I am asking something I think someone else already asked--can you peel and shred the beets before cooking, or do you have to grate them after they have cooked for a while in the broth? Can't wait to make this soup, looks soooo good!
I've made this soup twice since its recent discovery, and my partner and I are completely hooked. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Its such a healthful, strengthening meal- I'm expecting a child in a few months, and this soup is certainly one my body craves, especially as the weather cools!
Just had to say I made this tonight and it is DIVINE. Totally economical too, for an unpaid intern living in NYC. Thank you for sharing!
You're welcome! Beets are definitely a super cheap and hearty for lunch and dinner. I've also been known to eat this for breakfast!
This is such a delicious soup! My favorite kind, broth-y with clear distinct flavors. I will make this again and again!
This recipe converted me to borscht! So fresh and delicious. The one thing I would recommend, is possibly tying the juniper berries up in a little cheesecloth sack that can be removed before serving. Not everyone loves biting into those pine-y little guys, but they do contribute a great flavor. Thanks Naked Beet!
Eight months later and I finally tried this. It is perfect - except I would add a few more potatoes because the beet-potato combination is heavenly. I am now trying to locate old-style fermented beets because a friend of mine has a long-ago childhood memory of the best soup ever made with them. As a beetlover, Naked Beet, (if you are still logging in here) do you have suggestions on how I can find them?
I'm so glad to see that this recipe got an "editors' pick" designation, because to me... it's still the beet winner! :-)
This looks delicious. Can't wait to try it out.
Thanks for all the support everyone, it's deeply appreciated and I'm thrilled for the nomination. I just want clarify the seasoning aspect of my recipe. Hold off on the use of salt until after the grated beets cook. If you salt the water before that, the beets will seize up as they cook and will not release their full color, sweetness, and flavor into the soup.
I am in the middle of making it - waiting for the beets to get tender. Realized we don't have a regular grater, so am going to grate in food processor - and save my hands from pink stains. Have you tried shredding the beets before cooking?
My mom makes a spicy tomato cabbage beet borsch that I need to replicate, but she finds cooking from recipes beneath her, so I need to figure out how to replicate.
Hey Allie, that's a good question and I'm definitely going to test that out next time around. The only real difference I find in my grater vs. the food processor is that the processor makes thicker cuts of things. I noticed this the last time I made potato pancakes with a grater side by side with potatoes cut on the processor. The grater made them just that much thinner, which I preferred.
I have the same question - why not grate the beets BEFORE cooking? - fishing out hot beets and then trying to grate them seems a bit backwards. Anyway, I will look forward to seeing what you all discover. I am looking forward to trying this since I love beets but have never cared for borscht - hoping this will change my opinion!
The finished borscht was great -- food processor and all. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
I made your borscht last night, Naked Beet, and I used my food processor to grate the beets and it turned out perfectly. I have never been a borscht fan, but this was delicate and graceful, and deserving of the Dr. Zhivago (favorite movie, near perfect book) title. I can just imagine Lara and Zhivago eating this in the house in Yuriatin.
I did have a hankering to add the beet greens. I know that as a winter soup, Russians and Poles would be unlikely to have greens (the beets being stored in a root cellar), but I love them so. I may sautee the greens and serve them with the leftover borscht.
I am going to make this recipe this week. I can't tell my mother. She will be so jealous that I am not using her recipe, which is similar. Dr Zhivago's version promises to be even better.
LOL! I hope the soup doesn't cause a family rift. ; ) Do you know the joke about the wife burning the beef stew? The husband is ecstatic and says to his wife, "Finally, it's delicious, just like my mother's."
I am embarrassed to say that I discarded the beet greens until recently because I never realized they were so delicious. An Italian friend fed me some sauteed greens with garlic and olive oil. That's all I wanted to eat, even though she made so many other great things. So glad you liked it!
this is so beautiful. congrats! I can't wait to make it and try borchst!
This is amazing. Great recipe, fabulous writing, tasty beets! So deserving of publication in the cookbook... you got my vote! No contest.
Fabulous recipe and I love your headnote, too.
This looks wonderful, it def rivals my Polish aunts borscht
This recipe has made me feel nostalgic for my time abroad...in France. Our program had a Russian cook who made borscht all the time, which was perfect for a the cold, mistral winds of Provence. Glad to see this recipe is a finalist, looking forward to making it!
Made this yesterday - YUM! I am going to have it for lunch today, too!
Oh Wow! That's awesome. Did you like the tartness? I have some leftovers myself.
I did indeed - perfect balance with the beet and the lemon. I am so happy because I have made borscht in the past and it has been not-so-good, finally I have a great recipe! I will be making this again and again!!!
i just made this for dinner tonight -- delicious! i love all the vegetables -- they really make this feel like a complete meal. i used some beef stock too. thank you for sharing the recipe!
I missed your comment that you made this. So glad you liked it! I bet the beef stock made it a lot heartier, too.
Since I discovered (too late) the allure of beets, I've been searching for a great borscht recipe, and this sounds like just the thing.
My 6 year old daughter was adopted from Russia. She thinks borscht is 'her' soup. Looking forward to making this for her....thanks.
That is adorable, "her soup"! I know every region has its own take on this and I hope she likes it.
Yes, that is what I hear from my friends. My Polish friend made us a Polish Christmas borscht - perfectly clear, spiced red consomme. Fascinating variation.
You are the beet queen and I look forward to making your recipe. I love cooking something that has evolved over time and has family roots. Like your mother, pink fingers never bother me! Thank you for such a complex recipe.
Mmmm, yum. I love recipes that the creator has been working on and perfecting over time. I plan to make this in the next few days. Do you add the potatoes and carrots to the pot right after cutting them? Thanks! ;o)
Yes Antonia, add the potatoes and carrots into the water as soon as you're done preparing them. Thanks for catching that!
Thank you so much for posting this! I am VERY excited to try it ... it looks and sounds exactly like what a perfect borscht should be ...
Kristen is the Senior Editor of food52.
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Oil and water may not mix, but they sure make a pretty pair! Juniper berries join the party.
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While we make borscht, Kristen's busy making 180 crostini for a party we're hosting that evening.
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Cool beet, huh?
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Cutting the beets in half or quarters means faster, more even cooking.
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Amanda lovingly lowers her perfectly cut carrot rounds into the pot.
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After 15 minutes, the soup looks like this!
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Checking for beet stains.
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The fun part! You remove the just-tender beets from the soup and grate them (after letting them cool a bit).
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Then, they go back into the soup.
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Amanda cuts impossibly thin slices of garlic to garnish the finished borscht.
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And in goes a full 1/4 bunch of dill, finely chopped.
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Made it and shared at the office. Everyone liked it! I added a dash of cider vinegar because I'm used to beets/greens with butter and vinegar. I'll make it again.