Winter Borscht

Winter Borscht is one of those traditional and substantial soups that can be a hearty lunch or a satisfying dinner in the cold months.  Those of us in the Northeast seem to have more and more of those cold months, for which this type of soup is consoling.  If you are starting with a container of beef stock, then you will need a piece of beef for the soup.  If you are making your stock, use the leftover beef, shin or chuck.  This is one of those recipes where the ingredients are all common, but take a bit of accumulating.  You can shorten the process by using canned beets. If using homemade stock, add two teaspoons kosher salt.

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds beef cut into ½ inch cubes

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

3 beets (about 1 ¼ lb. or 15 oz. can, drained), cooked, peeled, and cut into julienne slices,

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 small head cabbage (at least ½ lb) grated or cut fine

28 oz. can chopped tomatoes

6 oz. can tomato paste

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp red-wine vinegar

5 cups beef stock

2 boiling potatoes (about 1 ¼ lbs.) peeled, cut into ½-inch cubes

pepper and salt to taste

1/3 cup snipped fresh dill, plus additional for serving

sour cream for serving

Directions

Brown meat in hot oil.

Add onions and garlic and cook until just wilted.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, wine-vinegar, beets, cabbage, salt and pepper.

Add 5 cups beef stock.

Cover and cook for one hour or until meat is almost tender.

Add diced potatoes and dill and cook until potatoes are done.

To Serve

Add a heaping tablespoon of sour cream to each bowl of soup and sprinkle with added dill.