This is another of Greg Atkinson's recipes - a Northwest chef whom I adore, mainly because every recipe of his that I've made has gone straight to the top of my favorite list...and it's a very long list! Last spring I had Borscht at a friends house and it was wonderful - but very different from this recipe. This is really like beef stew with beets - and of course, there's the color - a deep burgundy, maroon, crimson, scarlet, magenta...BEET COLOR!! When I came across Greg's recipe for this wonderful soup in the Sunday Pacific Magazine, I couldn't wait to make it! And it's perfect for Halloween...the color of this soup alone will have all of your little vampires sharpening their fangs!
The mister, who as you know, hates anything spicy or flavorful, stared as his bowl of Borscht with skeptical eyes...I had to BEG him to eat it and reassure him that he would love it - finally he gave it a little taste and to his surprise, he loved it! The boy was not so easy to convince - the color bothered him, he wanted to know what MADE it red...and knowing how he feels about beets (hates them) I offered up a little fib and told him I had put food coloring in the soup - and those lumps were just different potatoes. He ended up eating a huge portion...and now has a fondness for "Russian Potatoes." What he didn't know didn't hurt him!
I hope you'll try this soup - it's so good on a cold evening - and if you have leftovers, it will be a little thicker and even better the next day...in my humble opinion.
Borscht - American Style - Adapted From Greg Atkinson, The Seattle Times Pacific Magazine
For the beets:
2 large beets, about 1 lb.
1 quart water, or as needed
For the soup base:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 pounds stewing beef, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 quarts beef broth
1 bay leaf
For the saute:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 or 4 yellow-fleshed potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
half a head of cabbage, shredded
To finish the soup:
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
a few springs of fresh dill or a sprinkling of dried dill
1 cup sour cream
Trim the leaves and larger stems from the beets, but keep the skins and tails intact. Put them in a pot over high heat with 1 quart, or as needed water to cover and bring the water to a full, rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer the beets until they are tender, about 1 hour.
Once the beets are cooking, prepare the soup base. Melt the sugar in a dry pan over medium-high heat, and when the sugar is a deep caramel color, add the stewing beef sprinkled with kosher salt. Stir the beef around until it is well browned, about 2 minutes, then add the balsmaic vinegar, beef broth and bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer the beef until it is tender, about 1 hour.
While the beets and beef are still cooking in their separate pots, prepare the vegetables. Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the onions and carrots over medium-high heat until they are beginning to brown. Add the potatoes and cabbage and saute until the vegetables are heated through. Add the sauteed vegetables to the beef base and continue simmering until the potatoes are tender.
Use a slotted spoon to left the beets out of the boiling water and under cold, running water, slip off their skins. Cut the cooked, peeled beets into 1/2-inch cubes, add the beets to the soup. Discard the tails. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and serve it will a pinch of chopped fresh dill or sprinkle dried dill on each serving and top with a dollop of sour cream. Pass the remaining sour cream. Serves 8.
"I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween." - Charles Swartz.
