Russian Food: Borscht

One of our students shared that he really wanted to make Russian food. We learned that his beautiful mamma is from Russia and his father is from Columbia. After some discussion about pierogi, Nikolas decided on borscht. Borscht can be prepared many ways, we did a cold blended version utilizing red veined sorrel and beets from Chef Ollie's garden.

This cold summer soup is rich in vitamins, minerals and flavonals. The addition of bone broth makes it collagen rich and even more nutrient dense. My favorite recipes for broth come from "Brodo". You can order the book here and if you want to skip the arduous process Brodo sells their amazing broth that you can keep on-hand in the freezer. There is even a mushroom seaweed one for vegan / vegetarian or just omnivores trying to get more balance 😉.

““It is not really an exaggeration to say that peace and happiness begin, geographically, where garlic is used in cooking.”

X. Marcel Boulestin, chef, food writer (1878-1943)

Borscht is a treasured soup in both Russia and the Ukraine. Naturally there was some discussion about Russia and it led to a sweet coversation about the need to honor individuals and sacred parts of culture, like food.

Borscht Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or just toss in Vitamix

1 cup sliced carrots (or about 4 carrots if you're just tossing into a *Vitamix).

1 cup diced* onion (sweet or white onion works best)

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 cups steamed beets, diced (you can use store-bought package of pre-steamed beets to save time! Do not use the canned beets, they are too sweet)

1 cup fresh red veined sorrel, loose not packed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup jarred pickle juice (optional, but so delicious to add it in!)

1 3/4 cups broth

½ cup sour cream, more to garnish

Blend and chill, or serve right away. Garnish with sour cream and sorrel.

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