Description
Borscht soup is a dish that best represents Ukrainian cuisine. It’s a hearty, hot soup made with beetroot, which gives it a gorgeous red colour and sweetness. It’s nutritious and healthy and is suitable to vegan, paleo, Whole30 and gluten-free diets.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 largeonion, peeled and finely diced
- 1 large celery stick, diced
- 3 medium beets, peeled and grated
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
- 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1/3 white cabbage, thinly sliced (if it’s a very large cabbage, 1/4 might be enough)
- 1.5 litre vegetable stock (if not vegan, bone broth is great to use here)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander seed powder
- 3 tablespoons apple cider or white vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
To serve
- Bunch of fresh dill
- 1 cup of sour cream (optional, or coconut yoghurt or dairy-free cream)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and celery and sauté on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Prepare the rest of the vegetables in the meantime.
- Add the grated carrots, beetroot, garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir and sauté together for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the potatoes, cabbage, and the rest of the ingredients, including the stock. Stir through and heat the heat up to bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat to low and cook, covered, for 25 minutes. Turn the heat off and taste for salt. Depending on the stock used, you might need to add another pinch of salt. The soup should taste a little sweet but still savoury with a little acidity from the vinegar. Potatoes should be nice and soft.
- Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of chopped fresh dill and let the borscht rest, with the lid on, for about 10 minutes before serving. I always add a dollop of sour cream when serving, which is then mixed through the soup when eating. You can easily leave the cream out but it is the traditional way to eat borscht and it rounds out the flavours very nicely.
Notes
White potatoes can be replaced with parsnips, swedes or sweet potatoes.
Nutritional breakdown is for soup only, not the sour cream or dairy-free cream on top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2.5 cups
- Calories: 266
- Sugar: 14.2 g
- Sodium: 1594.9 mg
- Fat: 7.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.8 g
- Fiber: 9.3 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg