Cold Beet Borscht

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By: Andrew Chase

This borscht and botchvina, (Baltic Cold Spinach Soup), were my father's two favourite summer cold soups, reflecting his Baltic-Jewish background. In my family, these soups were served as hot-day dinners, embellished with hard-cooked eggs and sour cream, and accompanied by Russian-style black bread or Jewish rye with caraway seeds. Beet juice can be hard to wash off your hands, so oil your hands or wear gloves. A food processor with grating attachment makes easy work of grating.

Ingredients

3 lbs (1.5 kg) beet with greens (about 2 bunches)

2 carrots

1 tsp (5 mL) dill seeds

1/2 tsp (2 mL) peppercorns

6 whole cloves

3/4 cups (175 mL) dry white wine

1 white onion, finely chopped

1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt

1/2 cup (125 mL) lemon juice

2 tbsp (30 mL) granulated sugar

1 cucumber, sliced

6 hard-cooked eggs, sliced or quartered

1 cup (250 mL) sour cream

chopped fresh dill (optional)

Preparation

Cut stalks off beets; set aside. Peel and coarsely grate beets and carrots. Place dill seeds, peppercorns and cloves in cheesecloth bag or metal spice (or tea) ball. Set aside.

In saucepan, combine 8 cups (2 L) water, wine, onion, salt and spice bag; bring to boil. Add beets and carrots; reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut greens from beet stalks; discard stems and shred greens. Add beet greens to pot; simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove spice bag; stir in lemon juice and sugar. Let cool. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with cucumber, egg and dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle with dill (if using).

Serving(s): 8

Nutritional Information
Per serving: about
Calories	184
Protein	8 g
Fat (total)	8 g
Sat. Fat	4 g
Carbohydrate	21 g
Fibre	3 g
Cholesterol	151 mg
Sodium	633 mg
Calcium	11 % RDI
Iron	14 % RDI
Vitamin A	73 % RDI
Vitamin C	37 % RDI
Folate	43 % RDI

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Kitchen table: culinary diversity

Source

Homemakers Magazine: June 2005

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