Recipes

Beets are delicious and full of nutrition but are all too often apathetically cast aside. This delightful borscht makes these jewel-colored root vegetables shine.

Ingredients

• 4 small to medium beets
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
• 2 yellow onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 quarts meaty beef broth (recipe below) or vegetable broth
• 1/2 head cabbage, shredded
• 1 turnip, peeled and shredded
• 1 celery root, peeled and shredded
• 3 to 4 red potatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sour cream for garnish

Meaty Beef Broth

• 3 pounds of beef short ribs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 quarts water
• 2 carrots, cut into large chunks
• 3 to 4 ribs celery, cut into large chunks
• 2 onions, peel left on and quartered
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 2 to 3 sprigs each of thyme, rosemary and parsley
• 3 allspice berries
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Borscht

1. Wrap the beets in foil and bake them at 400° F for 1 hour or until fork tender. (Or 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Serve garnished with sour cream and chopped dill, and pass the pepper mill.

Meaty Beef Broth

1. In a large pot, brown the ribs on all sides in a little oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer gently for 2 hours. Strain the stock. Strip the meat from the bones and add back to the stock.
2. Remove the excess fat from the surface of the stock by either skimming with a ladle, using a fat separator or place the stock in the refrigerator overnight and remove the solid fat layer that
   rises to the top. You can store the stock in the refrigerator for several days or if you are not going to use it within that period, or freeze it.

Recipe modified with permission from PCC Natural Markets.