Aunt Hattie’s Beet Soup (Barszcz)
My sister, Felicia, an outstanding
cook, was here for a few days so I
suggested we make beet soup together using beets from my garden. The soup was
delicious. You can make this soup with or without the beef stock. I like it
with the meaty flavor. You can use either beef bones or some spare ribs. I used
3 beef short ribs. I also like to make the broth the day before, so that you
can remove the fat the next day.
 |
| Beet soup in progress |
INGREDIENTS
Beef Stock for Soup
3
short ribs
1
tablespoon olive oil
½
onion cup up
1
carrot cut up
1
stalk of celery including the leaves, cut up
6
cups of water
INGREDIENTS FOR SOUP
4 medium beets, roasted, then
quartered and sliced fairly thinly
3 medium potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice or white
vinegar
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons dill, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS FOR BEEF STOCK
In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add
short ribs and brown on all sides. Add onion, carrot, celery and water. Bring
to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 90 minutes. Strain vegetables,
reserving stock. Refrigerate overnight and skim off fat when ready to use.
DIRECTIONS FOR SOUP
Place beets in a pan lined with
tinfoil and a half cup of water. Seal with foil and bake at 350 degrees for
about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Test for doneness with a fork. Remove from oven.
Allow to cool. Remove peel. Quarter and thinly slice beets and set aside.
Boil potatoes until done. Sprinkle with dill and chive. Set aside.
Add lemon juice to soup. Reserve about
1 cup of soup.
Bring remaining soup to boil. Whisk
together sour cream and flour with the reserved cup of cold soup. Add sour
cream, flour, and soup mixture to soup pot. Whisk occasionally. Heat just till
boiling. Add sliced beets. Add salt to taste and additional sugar to taste.
Serve with boiled potatoes.
Note: you can also reserve 4
tablespoons of sour cream and 4 sprigs of dill to put on top of the soup before
serving.
Serves 4-6.
(Pictures, except for the picture of the finished soup, were taken by my sister Felicia, and are used with permission)
I love comments!! Please let me know what you think!--Adam
