Russian Vegetable Soup (borstch)

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 3 medium beets
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 medium onions
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
• 1/3 cabbage
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn
• 2 large bay leaves
• 1/2-1 tablespoon salt
• 1 -3 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon mrs. dash seasoning mix
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional) or 1/2 teaspoon tabasco sauce (optional)
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin (optional)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 20 cups water

Recipe

• 1 clean beats and grate them on the largest size grater you have.
• 2 open beans do not drain.
• 3 in a large pot combine beats, and beans.
• 4 add ~20 cups of water and bring to boil on high heat.
• 5 add peppercorns.
• 6 add bay leaf.
• 7 lower the heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes.
• 8 meanwhile:.
• 9 clean potatoes and dice them up in small peaces .5 x .5 inch.
• 10 clean the carrot, quarter it length-wise and thinly slice each strip.
• 11 add potatoes and carrot to the soup. continue cooking on medium heat.
• 12 peel the onions and finely dice them.
• 13 sauté onions with about 2 tablespoons of oil until they turn nice golden color.
• 14 add onions to the soup. continue cooking on medium heat.
• 15 very thinly slice cabbage and add it to the soup. cook for another 30-35 minutes or until all the potatoes beats and cabbage are ready. make sure that the cabbage is not mushy and overcooked.
• 16 turn off the heat.
• 17 this step is entirely to the individual taste (you may add any of the ingredients as you see fit):.
• 18 add lemon juice and mrs. dash. stir well.
• 19 add sugar and salt to taste. instead of sugar i sometimes use splenda about 3 little bags. the soup should have a hint of sweet and sour flavor.
• 20 if the soup is too thick add more boiling water or stock.
• 21 optional:.
• 22 i like to add about ½ teaspoon of hot sauce or tabasco and ½ of tablespoon of ground cumin. this adds a lot of flavor.
• 23 the soup actually tastes even better when reheated the next day.