Beef, Cabbage & Beet Borscht

Now I know.  There are 2 types of people in this world:  Those who love beets and those who are absolutely repulsed by them.  I had no idea this little root would get such a reaction.  I happen to love beets. So when I found a hearty beet soup recipe in my William Sonoma cookbook, I thought it sounded heavenly. Little did I know, I would offended some of my family and friends by trying to serve them beets.  But it turned out they were split about 50/50 on their love and hate for beets, so my hard work was somewhat appreciated.

I also had no idea that this meal was such a cultural staple.  I had never heard of this soup as my knowledge of Eastern European cuisine is lacking at best.  I usually try to stay away from recipes with a strong cultural tradition behind them, since a recipe in a book can never be as good as someone's grandma's recipe.  But my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to try this out, hoping it does justice to a traditional Borscht, but having nothing to compare it to in order to fully judge.  Bottom line, if you like beets, you will like this soup.

I also did not read the directions ahead of time to realize the time commitment involved in making this soup. It literally took me 3 days.

Evening 1: I cooked the beets by simmering for about 45 minutes.  After simmering, I saved 2 cups of the bright red cooking liquid and refrigerated overnight.  I stored the beets in the refrigerator separately.  Tip: use gloves while scrubbing and handling the beets.  You will thank me later if you don't know why now.

Evening 2: I cooked the beef.  I sauteed the cubed beef in oil for about 5 minutes.  I then added the leeks and carrots and sauteed in the same pan for another 5 minutes.  Once the veggies were soft, I added the beet liquid, beef, tomatoes, cabbage, water, tomato paste and dill.  This simmered for about 1 1/2 hours until the beef was deliciously tender.  I then added the beets, vinegar, brown sugar and salt and pepper.  By this time, it was way passed dinner time so I let cool and stored the soup in the refrigerator. The recipe actually indicated the soup tastes better the second day, so I didn't feel too bad about waiting one more night.

As you can see below, Nugget did not like the fact that I was in the kitchen so long.  But she did like eating up any veggies that may have fallen on the floor!

Evening 3:  By this time, I was determined to finally complete and sample my soup.  I reheated it over medium heat and added more seasoning to taste.  I removed the dill sprigs and was finally able to sample the Borscht.  I garnished with sour cream and chopped dill and served it to my family.  Unfortunately, it turns out they don't like beets.  Luckily my foodie girlfriends volunteered to be my taste-testers and they helped me eat the Borscht and didn't let any go to waste.

I did like the soup, but once I realized how many family Borscht recipes there are out there, I started to think I could have made improvements here and there.  Next time I will use a beef broth base rather that just the cooking liquid from the beets.  I think this will give it a more savory flavor.  And I may add more tomatoes as their flavor was covered up by the beets.  I'm curious to hear your thoughts on a Borscht recipe????  Any suggestions?

Oh, and one more tip:  Before you make this soup, be sure to ask you family if they eat beets!

Ingredients:
6 beets / $2.49 per bunch / $4.98
3 Tablespoons olive oil / from home
3 pounds stewing beef / $3.99 per pound / $9.22
2 leeks / $2.99
2 carrots / from home
1 can diced tomatoes (14.4 ounces) / $0.79
1 head green cabbage / $0.99 pr pound / $1.46
2 tablespoons tomato paste / $0.99
6 dill sprigs / $1.99
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar / from home
1/2 cup brown sugar / $0.89
1/2 cup sour cream / $0.99

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours
Servings: 8-10
Taste: 4 stars
Prep: easy but time consuming
Cost: $24.30 ($4.05 per serving)