Anya's Borscht
Anya's recipe for traditional borscht is packed with vibrant colors, nutritious root vegetables, and cozy flavors that will leave you craving for more.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
Beef Bone Broth
- 1 lb stew beef
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb beef soup bones
- 8 c water
- 3 bay leaves
Borscht
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 large carrots julienned into thin, 1.5-inch-long pieces
- 1 large parsnip julienned into thin, 1.5-inch-long pieces
- 2 beets with greens julienned into thin, 1.5-inch-long pieces. Tops roughly chopped.
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 large slicing tomatoes diced or 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
- salt to taste
- ½ bunch flat-leaf parsely roughly chopped
- ½ bunch dill roughly chopped, plus more to serve
- hearty whole grained bread and sour cream to serve
Instructions
For the broth
- Season the stew meat generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and beef. Cook until the beef is browned on all sides (you may need to cook it in batches).
- Return all the stew meat to the pot and add the beef bones, water, bay leaves, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, until the stew meat is fall apart tender. As the broth cooks, remove the scum that floats to the top with a slotted spoon.
- Let broth cool slightly, then strain out the solids. Discard the bay leaves. Cut away any meat off the bones and set aside with the cooked stew meat. Discard the bones. The broth can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until it is time to cook the soup.
For the borscht
- Pour the strained bone broth back into the large soup pot along with the cooked meat, and bring to a gentle simmer.
- In a separate large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and parsnips. Cook until the onion is fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the beets (not the tops) and cook until the vegetables are slightly tender, about 3 more minutes.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the soup pot, along with the tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Bring back to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the beet greens and simmer a few minutes until they are tender. Taste and add salt to taste. Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped dill and parsley.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream, more fresh dill, and hearty bread.
Notes
For a shortcut version, substitute 2 liters of store-bought beef bone broth for the homemade.