Beetroot Soup (or Borscht)

Prep Time: 15 min

Cooking Time: 45 min

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp. of vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1-2 medium carrots, shredded
• 4-5 skinless chicken thighs (with bones) or drumsticks
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 3-5 Bay leaves
• 2 cups of cabbage, shredded
• 6 cups of water
• 3-4 medium size potatoes, large cubes
• 2 medium size beetroots, shredded
• 1 lemon
• 1 -1 ½ cup of organic tomato pasta sauce

Directions:

Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil of your choice. Sauté garlic, onion and carrots for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Add chicken, mix the meat with vegetables and season your ingredients to taste with salt, black pepper and bay leaves. Sear the meat on all sides for 3-5 minutes and then add water. Bring your soup to a boil, add potatoes and decrease the heat to maintain a simmer until your potatoes are almost cooked. Then add cabbage and continue simmering for another 3-5 minutes. Skim the foam and most of the fat from the surface of the soup with large spoon.

Also, you’ll need to heat a medium size sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil of your choice. Sauté beetroot with a juice of ½ lemon and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes. Then add tomato pasta sauce and continue cooking on medium heat for another 5 minutes.

Add beetroot-tomato sauce mixture into your soup when potato and cabbage are cooked through. Mix well, taste the broth and add more seasoning. If you feel necessary, you can squeeze the second half of your lemon into the soup. That’s it! Turn the heat off and let the soup sit on a stove for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetite!