Borsch borsh borshch borscht or borsht

Just as there are many, many recipes for eastern European beetroot soup, so there are also many spelling of it, reflecting, I guess, the different languages and also the transcription from different scripts. There are beetroot soups from other countries too, and I actually usually use an Iraqi recipe which we all love.

I don’t know why, but I thought borscht was a vegetarian soup, although I thought it sometimes had chicken or meat stock in it… however, I’ve found a very nice sounding recipe for borsch which uses beef

• 1 lb stewing beef (whatever you would normally use, any cheap cut)
• 2 each of large onions, large carrots, cut into similar sized pieces
• 1 head of celery, 1 large turnip (if you’re not keen on the taste of turnips, substitute a root you do like, parsnip, swede, potato) chopped into similar sized pieces
• 1 lb peeled beetroot
• a couple of bay leaves
• oil, seasoning
• optional – half a small cabbage, very finely sliced
• sour cream/crème fraîche/yoghurt and dill to serve

1. brown the meat in the oil
2. add the vegetables and water to cover (maybe as much as 3 pints, but if that seems too much, add less and add more as needed) and salt and bay leaf
3. cook in a slow oven for at least 3 hours, possibly more, until everything is very tender
4. meanwhile, cook the peeled beetroot in water to cover until tender 30-40 mins according to size of beetroot
5. when the meat is done, take out and discard the bay leaf
6. take out the meat, take some but not all of the vegetables and set aside
7. put the liquor, the rest of the vegetables, and all but one of the beetroot, into a food processor and blend until the consistency is as you like for soup
8. add the meat, vegetables (whole beetroot diced) and blended vegetables and beetroot to a large pan and reheat, checking for seasoning and adding pepper. You may need to add the beetroot liquor or more water to get to the sort of soup you like
9. if you like cabbage then add it now to the soup and cook until tender to your taste
10. serve with a spoonful of cream etc and a generous sprinkling of dill