Beef and Beet Borscht
I don’t know about you but I went on a little cookie binge last month. My clients brought me chocolate bark, Christmas cookies, fudge, more cookies…I also went to not one but TWO Christmas dinners!
This month I am attempting to undo the damage with a diet focused on primarily meat and veggies – plus plenty of good fats, probiotics and fermented foods.
This colorful soup is loaded with fiber filled, nutrition packed veggies. I used pasture raised ground beef. You could also use beef sirloin or pork shoulder. Omit the meat and butter and you have a flavorful vegetarian soup.
Try this Beef Borscht and let me know what you think…
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. pasture raised ground beef*
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 3 medium beets
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 eight oz can of tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion
- 2 carrots
- 3 medium potatoes
- 1/2 a head of small green cabbage
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 4 cloves of garlic
Garnish: Sour cream and fresh chopped dill.
Directions:
1. Set up your mise en place: Grate beets (or shred them in the food processor), finely chop your onion, shred carrots, chop potatoes into bite sized pieces, slice cabbage and crush your garlic cloves and set aside.
2. In a large soup pot over med-high heat brown the ground beef (5 minutes). Add 14 cups cold water and 1 Tbsp salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and let soup simmer for about 30 – 40 minutes.
3. In a large skillet saute grated beets with 4 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp vinegar (5 minutes). Reduce heat to low, add tomato sauce and continue to cook for ten minutes. Carefully stir beets into the soup pot with the meat
4. In the same skillet saute diced onion in 2 Tbsp butter (1 minute), add grated carrots and continue to cook (5 minutes)
5. After the meat has been cooking for 30 minutes stir your diced potatoes into the soup pot and cook for ten minutes more. Then add cabbage, beets, onion and carrots, lemon juice, bay leaves, salt and pepper (to taste) and cook until the potatoes are just cooked through (10 minutes).
6. Add garlic, cover and remove from heat and let the soup rest for ten minutes.
7. Ladle soup into bowls, and top with a dollop or sour cream and fresh chopped dill.
*You may use any cut of meat you like. When I was shopping for this recipe I found a nice little 1 lb package of pasture raised ground beef. You could also use beef stew meat, sirloin or pork shoulder. If you use bone-in meat, simply cook the whole thing in water and after it has simmered for an hour or so remove the meat and cut it off the bone and into bite sized chunks. Don’t forget to save the bone to make broth.
Anne McCranie is a Portland (Sellwood) Oregon based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. She offers this recipe to tickle your taste buds. Please see your heath care professional for specific dietary advice.
