Sunday Suppers: That's Borschit!

So my mom's taking a trip to Russia with her boyfriend later this week. As usual, I'm making dinner tonight. Mom wants to clean out the fridge. I am, as usual, happy to oblige. There are two giant roasted beets. So what's a girl to do? Borscht. Sort of.

I have had borscht a few times before. My favorite is the beet variety. 

The problem? No onions, which are required by most recipes. The solution? Dig into the frozen container of scraps for stock and pull out some old (but intact) bits of garlic. The leek was a failure. Leeks don't survive being frozen and then thawed.

Here's what you do: 

1. Heat a couple of tablespoons of canola oil over medium heat. Add a few halved cloves of garlic. You probably want between 1 and 2 T. Add 1 to 2 T. of minced green bell pepper if you have it on hand (which I did from the stuffed pepper I'm making... I'm sure it's fine if you don't have any). Allow to cook for awhile until fragrant and sizzling. 

2. Add 2 large cooked beets, peeled and cut into large chunks. You'll probably have about 1 1/2 to 2 cups. Add 1 c. hot broth, stock, or water, salt and pepper, and some dill. I also put in a sprinkle of vinegar and a 2 T. of plain tomato sauce (which I had on hand from the stuffed pepper). You'll be putting this through the blender, so don't worry too much about tasting it now. 

3. After it's simmered for about ten minutes (the beets should be very soft), remove from the heat. Put the whole works into the blender and process (put the lid on unless you want it to look like you murdered someone in the kitchen). You might need to add more water to get it to turn over. (Free tip: swoosh some water into the pot you were using to cook the veggies and dump it into the blender... you get residue). 

4. Give it a taste. I added the white part of a scallion, sliced. Mine also needed a bit more dill. Put it back into the pot and set aside. 

5. Now for the fun part. Grate a carrot or two and chiffonade some cabbage. Cook those in a skillet with a bit of oil until hot. Season with salt, pepper, and more dill. (I think caraway seeds would be good here as well, but I don't have any.)

6. Heat the soup back up, put it into bowls, and add a scoop of the cooked carrots and cabbages on top. If you have/like it, you can add a dollop of sour cream or drained yogurt as well. 

Sorry, no picture. We ate it. :-( It was tasty, quite earthy, and the most lovely shade of magenta.