Borscht Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Crumble the sausage (if using) into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until no longer pink. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Fill a large pot halfway with water(about 2 quarts), and bring to a boil. Add the sausage, and cover the pot. Return to a boil. Add the beets, and cook until they have lost their color. Add the carrots and potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the cabbage, and the can of diced tomatoes.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender. Stir in the tomato paste and water until well blended. Transfer to the pot. Add the raw garlic to the soup, cover and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Taste, and season with salt, pepper and sugar.
• Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with sour cream, if desired, and fresh parsley.

Steps:

• To make the "beet water," roughly chop 2 pounds of the beets (select the smaller ones), preferably in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Place the chopped beets in a large stockpot. Add 10 cups of water and 1 tablespoon vinegar.
• Place the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. (If it seems like the liquid is evaporating too quickly, you may need to cover the pot partially with an offset lid.) The beets should be extremely soft and the liquid bright red.
• Strain the liquid, pressing the cooked beets against the side of the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp or reserve. Set aside the beet water. You should have just about 4 cups.
• Meanwhile, place the remaining 1 pound of whole beets in a separate large stockpot. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beets are tender-firm, about 40 minutes. When the beets are cooked, add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and set them aside to cool.
• When the whole cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them; the skins should slip off easily. Grate the peeled beets on the largest holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the grating blade.
• To make the broth, place the pork butt in a large stockpot and add the beef stock. If necessary, add a little more stock or water to cover. Add the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the meat is tender and beginning to fall apart, about 2 hours. Set the pork aside to cool. When the pork is cool enough to handle, remove it from the pot and cut the meat into ½-inch cubes. Strain the broth and discard the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Reserve the cubed meat and 4 cups of the broth.
• To cook the vegetables, place the carrots and celery in a large stockpot and pour the reserved meat broth over them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the carrots and celery are just tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage and potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes and carrots are easily pierced with a pairing knife but keep their shape, 15 to 20 additional minutes. Add the lima beans and cook for 5 additional minutes, just to meld the flavors. Gradually add the remaining 7 tablespoons white vinegar, tasting between additions and stopping when the flavor is to your liking. Remove the soup from the heat and set aside.
• To compose the soup, in a large soup pot combine the "beet water" and meat broth with the vegetables. Add the cubed pork and the grated beets. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over low heat. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Place the beets in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook uncovered until the beets are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the beets to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and also set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid, the chicken stock, sour cream, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper. Peel the cooled beets with a small paring knife or rub the skins off with your hands. Cut the beets in small to medium dice. Add the beets, cucumber, scallions, and dill to the soup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Season, to taste, and serve cold with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprig of fresh dill.

Steps:

• Put olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• When oil is hot, add onion, celery and leek, stir to coat, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring, until onion has softened and just begun to brown. Add garlic, tomato paste, paprika, caraway, bay leaf and thyme, and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
• Add potatoes, beets and carrots, 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a brisk simmer. Simmer with lid ajar for 20 minutes, or until potatoes, beets and carrots are fork tender.
• Add kale and vinegar, and stir to distribute. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Simmer until kale is done, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the horseradish cream: Put horseradish, lemon juice, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Let macerate 5 minutes, then stir in crème fraîche.
• To serve, ladle into soup bowls, and garnish with chopped dill, parsley, tarragon and chives. Pass the horseradish cream at the table.

Steps:

• Bring the broth to a simmer while you peel and prepare the vegetables. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat with the oil. Add the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the marjoram.
• Add the celery, parsnips, carrot, leek, and cabbage. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly tender, about 8 minutes
• Add the broth and the bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 10 minutes before grating the beets directly into the soup. Simmer, partially covered, until the soup is flavorful and the vegetables are completely tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the dill. Add the red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Garnish the soup with sour cream and serve.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the beets, carrots, onion and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. , Add tomatoes and cabbage; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Stir in salt, dill and pepper. Top each serving with sour cream if desired.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat.
• Add the onion, carrots and bell pepper and sauté until the onion and bell pepper are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the cabbage, beet and celery and continue to sauté, stirring and tossing occasionally, 10-15 minutes.
• Stir in the apple, potatoes, tomato paste and garlic. Mix well.
• Tie bay leaf and peppercorns in cheesecloth. This is called a bouquet garni. If you don't have cheesecloth, see notes for substitute.
• Add the bouquet garni to the soup pot and bring to a boil.
• Once soup reaches a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Add the paprika, salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper , sugar, dill, parsley, and lemon juice to taste. Let stand for about 2 hours.
• Remove the bouquet garni before serving.
• Serve garnished with extra parsley and dill, if desired, and under no circumstances should you EVER leave out the sour cream! A large dollop stirred into each bowl should do nicely.