Eat Healthy and Cheap
Beet Borscht
Borscht belongs to the whole stretch of land from Poland through Ukraine to Russia, and every family's version disagrees with the next about cabbage, beans, or beets grated versus diced. This one grates the beets so they cook fast and release their color straight into the broth, rather than boiling whole beets for an hour and losing most of that magenta down the drain. The finishing move is the one worth remembering for other dishes too: beet pigment is pH sensitive, so a splash of vinegar stirred in off the heat both fixes the color and stands in for the salt this soup never needed. A raw garlic and dill paste stirred in at the end, a common Ukrainian finishing touch, adds a last layer of sharpness that cooking the garlic in from the start would have blunted.
Ingredients
- 1 medium Yellow onions, diced
- 2 mediums Carrots, diced
- 1 stalk Celery, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced, divided
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 1/4 lb Beets, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 2 mediums Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes
- 3 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 2 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup Dill, chopped, divided
- 1/3 cup Plain plant yogurt, for serving
Method
- Sweat the onion, carrot, and celery in a large pot with 1/4 cup (60 ml) water over medium heat until soft, about 8 minutes, adding a splash more water whenever the pot looks dry.
- Stir in half the garlic and the tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, until the paste darkens from orange to brick red and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes. This step builds the savory base the soup leans on later, so do not rush past it.
- Add the grated beets, potato, bay leaves, black pepper, no-salt bouillon, and 6 cups (1.4 L) water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover partway, and cook until the potato is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in the cabbage and simmer until just wilted but still bright, 6 to 8 minutes. Cabbage cooked past this point turns gray and dull, and a borscht that looks tired eats tired too.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Beet color comes from betalain pigments that fade toward brown the longer they sit in a neutral pot, and acid locks them back into a deep magenta. That same acid is carrying the seasoning that salt would otherwise do, so taste and add another splash if the pot tastes flat. Fish out the bay leaves.
- Mash the remaining garlic with half the dill into a rough paste and stir it in, or set it out at the table for anyone who wants more bite. Ladle the soup into bowls, swirl in a spoonful of plant yogurt so it marbles rather than dissolves, and scatter the rest of the dill on top.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 190 calories, 6 g protein, 7 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
