Borscht, I declare as a cultural phenom. Borscht is a soup or even a stew loaded with vegetables. It is loaded with flavor, and because of all the vegetables it is rich in nutrients. The dish itself is a great option for both Vegan and Meat lovers alike. Classically it is topped with sour cream and dill for garnish.
However greek yogurt, particularly fage 0% sugar, fat is a great alternative that provides a creamy texture to this without the added fat and calories. While I have always been intrigued by borscht, the mystique of it has kept me from partaking until now. This happens to be in the 3rd week of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
While there are many folks raising money. This particular California restaurant has peeked my interest as they have raised money for the Ukranian people. Sonomas bar and bottle, check out this article.
What is Borscht?
Ahh the $80.00 question. What is Borscht? Borscht has as many varieties maybe as many as there are makes of automobiles. The key main ingredients seem to be beets, sour cream, potato, and dill. This would be the classic version anyway. The classic version of this soup wouldn't have vinegar, it would use fermented beets. This would give that acidity that the vinegar that is added provides. The vinegar also aids in keeping the beets bright and colorful
So often the vegetables are shredded or grated. This allows for a quick cooking potato, or beet. In my recipe, I have cooked potato in stock, blended it in stock, thinned it out with stock, added vinegar, blended cooked beets to comprise a flavorful satisfying base for this Borscht.
Traditionally Meat is often used in the stock to build flavor. This is done by using bones rendered into a broth or meat that is cooked in liquid and then using this broth for the stock base. Visit us on our Recipes page for other stock recipes..
Vegetarian Borscht with Yogurt and Dill
In this recipe, I have prepared the components going into the recipe in a small dice fashion in efforts to make it appealing to eat. Shredded vegetables serve some. Some folks may offer that the diced vegetables have no purpose in borscht. If you are one of those you will not like this recipe.
I make the stock, thickened broth seperate and keep to the side. To finish I take the remaining diced ingredients and sautee them together with salt and pepper and more dill until the vegetables are tender. I made a version with kielbasa and cubed that up and sauteed it with the vegetables and beans here. Then place in a bowl and add the thickened stock on top of them. Garnish with dill and either sour cream or fage 0% fat and sugar yogurt. (This provides for a creamy addition without the element of fat or sugar added)
How to make your Borscht Vegan
Borscht vegan? Absolutely, borscht is a wonderful vegan dish. The way borscht is made it is layered with lots of flavors. The creamy richness of potato, onions, garlic, carrots, vinegar, and beets. I am always looking for vegan ideas that I can enjoy either as vegan or with meat. This was an easy dish that transcends the likes of both the vegan and the meat eater.
When I made this dish I built the stock as a vegan. I used vegetable stock and made a potato stock which also gave some body to the soup and creaminess. This also makes it more filling.
Once this was done I blended some roasted beets directly into the thickened stock and then thinned it out more with vegetable stock. There is still no meat in this dish to this point.
If you follow the recipe, I sauteed diced cabbage, onions, potato until they were tender. I added diced roasted beets and white navy beans. I seasoned with salt and pepper and more dill.
These items were placed in a bowl with the thickened stock on top, garnished with dill. Still delicious, you could also garnish with navy beans.
Vegan Borscht with Dill
Borscht Hot or Cold?
#1 best borscht recipe
Borscht here is served hot. The recipes that I have developed are not ones that would be served cold. A cold soup is created with the intention of serving it cold. The flavors need to be adjusted for serving it cold, tasted and adjusted when the soup is cold. The flavor of a hot soup will not be the same taste when eaten cold.
The qualities and characteristics for a cold soup need to be built more boldly because heat typically enhances flavors. Borscht can be eaten as a cold soup. A Typical Cold Borscht soup would be fermented beet juice combined with cream or some form of yogurt, kefir might be an option or blended greek yogurt served over cucumber, eggs, radishes, green onion. Garnish with chives.
This pink creamy soup would have the classic sweet and sour flavors known with Borscht.
White Borscht
A white borscht doesn't likely have beets in it. White borscht will typically have a sour taste, likely from vinegar or something similar. It is important to understand that fermentation was a big part of food prior to modern refrigeration. Some pickles, kimchi, sauerkraut were all the product of things starting to spoil and it was learned ways to make them enjoyable.
Sauerkraut and kimchi are both preserved cabbage in different forms. The items were made and would hold through the winter or until the product was gone. The flavors of these items are distinct and yet vary based on the recipes used to make them. It is important to understand this in borscht because this is the tradition of how the sweet and sour flavors, sour particularly come from.
In white borscht the soup will have that sour taste, that traditionaly would come from some fermentation process that was used as part of the recipe creation. White borscht would likely have this sour enhanced broth that would be served over some meat, maybe sausage, vegetables, maybe even hard boiled eggs.
The broth would be a clear or clowdy broth, however, it wouldn't contain beets as in a classic beet borscht.
Borscht
Ingredients
Stock
- 6 oz onion peeled, diced
- 4 ea garlic cloves, peeled, minced
- 1 tbsp dill fresh, chopped fine
- 4 cups potato chef potatoes, peeled sliced or grated
- 2 cups beets roasted, peeled, sliced or raw shredded or grated
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 cups stock for vegan or vegetarian use vegetable base, for others: beef, pork or chicken work well
- 2½ oz cider vinegar
Auxiliary Elements (Items that go into the stock)
- 1 cup cabbage diced fine
- 1 cup carrots small dice
- 3 oz onion spanish or vidalia, peeled, small dice
- 1½ cups potato peeled, small dice, keep in water until needed
- 1 tbsp dill fresh, chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper fresh ground
- 15 oz beans navy beans
- 1 cup beet roasted wrapped in foil at 400 until fork tender 60 minutes or so, cooled, peeled, small dice
Meat
- 1 lb kielbasa cubed in 1/2 to 3/4 inch chunks
Garnish
- 1 each dill 1 small sprig of dill, per oz cup of soup
Dairy
- 8 tbsp Sour Cream You can use sour cream, for vegan don't use sour cream or ygurt Fage 0% yogurt works really well in this dish, adds a creamy texture without added fat
Instructions
Stock
- In a stockpot add onion, sliced potato, 1 oz oil, sautee for 5 minutes
- Add 4 cups of stock that you are using, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, simmer for 10 minutes
- Once potatoes are tender, blenderize with an immersion blender or add to blender or food processor, blend to smooth
- Add additional 4 cups of stock, add chopped dill,
- Add 2.5 oz cider vinegar to the sauce
- Add the sliced, cooked beets (if using shredded beets add to potatoes while cooking), and blenderize the mixture again, if using soon, keep hot
Auxiliary Elements
- Saute onions, cabbage, potatoes in saute pan for 5 - 10 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are tender. If Using cooked meat it should be added in this part of the recipe
- Add 1 Tbsp dill, salt, and pepper to taste, stir
- Once the above items are tender, add beans, and diced cooked beets
Garnish
- In a bowl place 6 oz of a hot vegetable mixture, top with 8 oz hot stock
- Garnish with 2 tablespoons Sour Cream, and a sprig of dill
