Polish Red Borscht or Barszcz Czerwony

Red borscht aka Barszcz czerwony, is a soup that many of us associate with the flavours of childhood. We love our borscht soups in Poland and it is one of the flagships of Polish cuisine. There are so many versions of red borscht: cold beet soup, Christmas borscht or red borscht with sour cream.

Today, I will make red borscht with potatoes, whitened with sour cream. Traditionally, if you make red borscht for Christmas, you can skip the potatoes and sour cream. The soup will be equally tasty and can be served with dumplings, croquettes or ravioli.

Ingredients

5 – 6 medium beetroots
3 -4 medium potatoes
1 litre vegetable broth
4 cups of water
1 leek
2 carrots
1 celery stalk, diced
1 parsley root or parsnip
1 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch salt
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup of sour cream
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

Instructions

Wash all the vegetables.

In the large pot, boil the beetroots in water for about 1 hour or until soft (without peeling the skin). You can use a fork to see if they are done. Remove the cooked beets from the water and set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly.

Meantime, in the second large pot, add vegetable broth, 4 cups of water, leek, carrots, celery and parsnip. Add bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and remove the white foam from the top of the broth with a spoon, so the soup will not become bitter or sour. Reduce to a low heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Peel and chop the potatoes into bite size pieces. Boil them in a medium size pot with a pinch of salt, until potatoes are tender. Adding potatoes to the borscht make the soup more hearty and filling. I like russet or any white potatoes.

When vegetables are tender, remove them from the broth and let them cool for a minute or two. I don’t like leek and parsley root, so I discard them but you can use them if you like.

Peel the beet roots. I recommend peeling them while they are still warm…. it just so much easier. The skin peels off by itself when lightly scraped with a knife. When peeling and grating, wear plastic kitchen gloves to avoid staining the skin with beetroot juice.

On a grater with large holes, grate beetroots, carrots and celery. You can also dice carrots and celery, instead of grading them. This way the vegetables have the structure and will not disappear in the soup, but it all depends on personal preferences.

Transfer carrots, celery and grated beets back to the pot.

Drain cooked potatoes and add to the soup.

Cut the onion into cubes. In a medium frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Transfer to the soup.

Add lemon juice, salt and pepper according to your liking and let the soup simmer for about 5-10 minutes. The lemon juice will add freshness and counterbalances sweetness of beets and carrots.

This is optional, but I like to thicken my soups with a roux. To do this, brown 2 tablespoons of of all-purpose flour in a dry frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix until smooth. Then slowly add 2 cups of soup to the pan, whisking constantly to temper the sour cream and prevent it from curdling when added to the soup. Pour the contents of the pan into soup and mix again. Simmer for about 5 minutes but don’t boil.