Borscht- Russian Beet Soup





Our Valentine Cocktail to start off dinner

Have you ever eaten borsht, a soup made from fresh beets?

Although I make lots of fresh vegetables, cooking beets is a little intimidating to me.

Beets are one of those vegetables that are super healthy for you, but a little ( alot) messy to cook.

However, I recently learned that a friend uses rubber gloves when she makes beets. Duh! Why didn't I ever think of that..

So, if you love beets, now is the time to make them.

Both sets of my Russian grandparents thrived on Borscht ( cold beet soup), and my paternal grandmother lived to the ripe old age of one 107 ! Until her death, she was feisty, dignified, happy... Longevity was prevalent with my Russian ancestors and so was borscht ( is there a connection??)

               Pin It            
         This is a picture of my relatives. ( 1940's  in Brooklyn, NY )

My paternal grandmother made homemade winter borscht with beets, potatoes, cabbage, meat bones, and meat. It was served hot and was a hearty healthy meal for the cold nights in Russia.

However, when she came to America, she started making  a vegetarian variety of borscht which she served ice cold and topped with a generous scoop of creamy sour cream ( I use thick Greek Yogurt)  When my paternal grandmother put the borscht and sour cream in the blender, it turned a beautiful hue of hot pink. It was a cooling meal on many a hot , humid, New Jersey night.

Why Are beets so healthy?  Beets are powerful cleansers and help build the blood. Beets are a good source of vitamins and minerals and a very absorbable form of iron.
This vegetarian gluten free borscht recipe contains not only beets but other healthy root vegetables as well. I like to use organic vegetables, which I think enrich the taste and reduce the pesticides.

Personally, I never really developed a taste for borscht until I was an adult.
However, I do love beets and will now occasionally make some summer borscht topped with creamy Greek yogurt. It's good in the winter too hot..
I don't use the commercially produced jars of borscht because they contain lots of added sugar and the broth is really thin and sweet- almost like a drink.
My homemade borscht can be delightfully tangy because I add a little lemon juice.

I decided to make it in the crock pot. Eat it hot or cold- your choice.

Judee Algazi @Gluten Free A-Z Blog
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time in the Slow Cooker:

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion, sliced
Olive oil spray or 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large beets, peeled and quartered 
3 small carrots, sliced
8 cups of water
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons coconut milk per bowl

Directions:

Turn slow cooker on high and add olive oil or spray with olive oil spray. Add chopped onion, carrots, and garlic and allow to saute for about 10 minutes, stirring as needed. Add beats and water and lemon juice . Cook on high for 3 and half hours. Remove from slow cooker, allow to come to room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Eat borsht cold. Stir in 2 teaspoons of coconut milk in each bowl.

Cook in the crock pot on high  for 3 and 1/2 hours or in a pot for 2 hours

Blend with or without Greek Yogurt

My grandparents drank their borscht from a glass..

   Pin It
   I love to read your comments. Please leave a comment so I know you stopped by. Scroll down to the end of the post and click on comments.

Chocolate covered strawberries


I just recently discovered a website that has a soup linkys on Sunday. I'm going to submit this soup recipe, so pop over on Sunday and check out all the great soup recipes.