Summer Borscht

Several months ago, I complained about the hot beet soup served by a local resident. I have since been corrected by those more knowledgeable than I, but it is my experience that winter borscht, served hot, is a beef and cabbage soup.

Now that it is a bit warmer and I have unpacked by short-sleeved shirts, I am getting ready for summer borscht, a refreshing cold beet soup that is perfect on a hot day.

Summer borscht, in my experience, is a cold, dairy soup. I fry the veggies in butter and it's best with a dollop of sour cream, so I make it with no meat.

Try out this recipe; you might just find you like it!

Ingredients:

Water
NACL and pepper
Miripoix, diced
Green pepper, diced
Beets
Tomatoes, diced
Tomato sauce
Vegetable stock
Potatoes, 3 quartered and 1/4 cup diced
Butter
Cabbage, shredded
Dill

Directions:

Boil the beets in H2O with salt, carrots, some of the bell pepper, celery and quartered potatoes until tender in stockpot.

In separate skillet, fry the miripoix and the green pepper in the butter until tender. Add tomatoes and stir to deglaze. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add in some cabbage and continue simmering for five more minutes.

Remove potatoes and beet from pot and mash with butter and vegetable stock until smooth.

Add contents of skillet to stockpot, stir in diced potatoes and simmer until tender. Increase heat to low boil and add tomato sauce, more cabbage and mashed potato/beet mixture. Reduce heat to simmer, and stir in a bit more bell pepper.

In the soup bowl, add black pepper and a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy. Suggestion: don't wear a white shirt!