Borsch soup

Dear foodies,

Last week, my man got a craving for good old Polish food. So we looked up some recipes and found this great Borsch recipe. For those of you who are not familiar, Borsch is reaaaaally awesome beet soup. I'm not a huge fan of beets, but try it and you'll be convinced!

I've made a slight adjustment from the original recipe which you can find here). I've removed the pieces of beef shank once used for the broth, because they are not very tender. Also, depending on your taste, adjust the amount of dill (it does taste a lot). And last, but not least, be generous with the sour cream (mmmmh).

Borsch

Larger photo

INGREDIENTS (6 portions)

• 8 cups beef broth
• 1 pound slice of meaty bone-in beef shank
• 1 large onion, peeled, quartered
• 4 large beets, peeled, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or less, depending on your taste)
• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1 Bring 4 cups of the beef broth, the beef shank, and onion to boil in large pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes.

2 Discard beef shank. Cool broth slightly. Chill in pot until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

3 Spoon fat from top of chilled broth and discard. Add remaining 4 cups broth, beets, carrots, and potato; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

4 Stir in meat, cabbage and 1/2 cup dill; cook until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup dill.

Original recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/borscht/