Elizabeth Tatarinoff's Winter Borscht
In my 20s I had an amazing opportunity to meet and befriend a Russian grand dame of purported Royal descent. She was in her 80s and still working — translating French and Russian poetry for the Hoover Institute at Stanford University. Our friendship inspired her to begin throwing small, intimate parties for her artist friends. Together we created many a glorious fête! In between parties she would share her childhood recipes with me. This is my interpretation of her excellent recipe for Borscht.
Ingredients
PreparationIngredients
- 4 small to medium beets Add to list
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter Add to list
- 2 yellow onions, peeled and finely chopped Add to list
- 1 carrot, finely chopped Add to list
- 3 cloves garlic, minced Add to list
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste Add to list
- 1 tablespoon sugar Add to list
- 2 quarts meaty beef broth or vegetable broth Add to list
- 1/2 head cabbage, shredded Add to list
- 1 turnip, peeled and shredded Add to list
- 1 celery root, peeled and shredded Add to list
- 3 to 4 red potatoes, diced Add to list
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill Add to list
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice Add to list
- Salt and pepper to taste Add to list
- Sour cream for garnish Add to list
Preparation
Wrap the beets in foil and bake them at 400° F for 1 hour or until fork tender. (Or you may cook them in boiling water.) Cool and slip off the skins. Coarsely grate them with a grater blade in a food processor or on a box grater.
In a heavy pot, heat the oil or butter and sauté the onion, carrot and garlic for 5 minutes or until the onions are tender and lightly golden. Stir in the tomato paste and sugar and cook for 1 minute more. Pour in the stock and blend well with the onion mixture.
Add the cabbage, turnip, celery root and potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the beets and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in the dill and vinegar or lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve garnished with sour cream and chopped dill, and pass the pepper mill.
Recipe by , PCC Chef
Source: Demonstrated on KING 5's "Gardening with Ciscoe" show, which aired on January 16, 2010.
Adapted from a recipe by Elizabeth Tatarinoff.
ABOUT OUR CHEF: Lynne Vea
Lynne Vea is a graduate of the Executive Chef Program at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris and has been cooking with PCC Natural Markets since 2001. Featured on King-5’s "Gardening with Ciscoe," she demonstrates easy and delicious recipes using seasonal ingredients.
Lynne is an admired PCC Cooks instructor, teaching a variety of popular PCC Cooks classes throughout the year.
She loves to collect old cookbooks, hunt for wild berries, and cook seven-course dinners where the guests are encouraged to dance and cavort between courses.
Find more recipes from Lynne.
Comments
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Stock recipe
We just added the beef broth recipe to our recipe database.
Thanks for pointing that out. You can find it by visiting the URL below or clicking the meaty beef broth link above in the recipe.
http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/pcc/recipes/meaty-beef-stock-borscht
Thanks and hope you enjoy!
Tom Monahan
PCC Natural Markets
February 01, 2010 at 11:56 AM — monahat
Delicious but Huge Batch!
Just a warning - this makes a huge batch of soup! It is delicious and warming on a winter night. It would be nice to have number of servings on the recipe.
January 28, 2010 at 06:25 PM — nstillger