Blood, Beet and Borscht

My Blood Red Borscht

Never had it, certainly never had it bubbling on my stove before. In a Lent inspired health spree, I found myself browsing through my Soup Kitchen recipe book. 


There it was. 


A bowl of glossy, blood red liquid. 
If its flavour was as intense as its appearance, then it would be spectacular.
I made it; missing out the garlic absent-mindedly at the outset, but added it with the stock and let it boil with all the other ingredients for the 40 minutes. Garnished (almost) as advised with fromage frais and chopped chives this dish could only be described as sweet, earthy goodness. If you haven't made it, do it. Now. Seriously, try it. The Russians aren't famous for much that's good, so we might as well embrace this stunningly simple and glorious soup.


Colour meets taste.


Here's the recipe I used:

50 g butter
250 g raw beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1.5 litres beef stock
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 small pot sourced cream
a handful chopped chives
salt
black pepper


Melt the butter in a large pan over a gentle heat and slowly sweat the
beetroot, onion, carrot and garlic, turning the vegetables (which will
become a lurid pink) over the in the butter.


Add the sugar and stock to the pan, season with a few grinds of pepper,
bring the soup to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes until the
vegetables are tender.


Using a blender, whizz the soup until it is entirely smooth then add the
freshly squeezed lemon juice and a little salt to taste.


A swirl of soured cream and a scattering of chopped chives is the
traditional garnish for his beautiful soup - delicious, and adding another
dimension to the fabulous beetroot colour.