The 'How to Cook' Blog

Learning how to cook Mennonite Style Borscht is something we don’t take lightly in our family. We make this cabbage soup often, especially in the colder months of the year. One side of my family has Mennonite roots. We are German, but hailing from Russia, on my mother’s side.

My other side is Ukrainian and they are well known for eating borscht too!

“I love Borscht! I’m giving you our secret family recipe that’s been passed down for generations. It is a delicious, stick-to-your-bones winter soup that is healthy and low in fat! The red and green beauty of this soup makes it ideal for Entertaining during the Holidays or anytime you need a Russian soul food fix!” ~ Kimberly Edwards

Borscht has peasant roots because cabbage and meat bones were very inexpensive and typically, all many could afford. Being extremely industrious, the peasants created this fabulous soup that obviously has been embellished over the years, but has it’s style from eras gone by.

The recipe may seem like it calls for a lot of ingredients, but have no fear – it will all be worth it to get the perfect, authentic flavor we crave.

Type: Soup Recipe
Serve With: Sour cream and/or vinegar, fresh, crusty bread
Prep Time: ~ 15 min
Cook Time: ~ 1 hr, 30 min
Yield: 1 stock pot full

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of beef shank or steak – if the beef is bone-in, it will weigh more.
• 4 large carrots – chopped
• 2 celery stalks – chopped
• 2 large onions – chopped
• 2 large beets – peeled & chopped
• 3 garlic cloves – whole
• 3/4 tbsp sea salt – plus more to taste, if necessary, at the end
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cabbage – sliced into edible pieces; green or purple variety
• 16 oz can of  tomatoes – I use my mother’s canned tomatoes from the summer.
• ~ 8 peppercorns
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley – chopped; or 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 2 tbsp fresh dill – chopped; or 1 tbsp dried dill
• * 1/8 tsp dill seeds – optional, but I love them!
• 2 whole cloves – a family secret in our soups
• 1 pinch nutmeg – freshly ground is best.
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 large potatoes – diced
• freshly cracked black pepper – to taste
• * 1 can/bottle beer – optional, but very tasty
• ~ 3/4 stock pot full water – chicken stock or tea work well too

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Instructions:

1. * If you’re using beef shanks or bones, preheat oven to 420 degrees. (If you don’t want to brown the meat first, see below to step #5 to see how to prepare the beef.) Place bones evenly into a baking dish that has been greased with vegetable or olive oil. Brown in oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until nicely browned, turning halfway through. * Tip: If you like, you may add your chopped mirepoix/vegetables (onions, celery, carrots, plus in this case beets) onto a greased cookie sheet into the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until nicely browned, but this is optional.
2. Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot on medium heat with about 1 tbsp oil and add browned vegetables. * Tip: add 1/2 can tomato paste if desired and stir on medium heat for 2 minutes.
3. Add bones or shanks to the mixture, deglaze your baking dish with beer, stock or water as long as the sucs (baked on dry bits) aren’t burned and add to the stock pot.
4. Add cabbage, spices and tomatoes, and put it on high heat.
5. Fill stock pot to approximately 3/4 full of water (+ beer, if desired).
6. * If you would like to make this soup without browning the meat in the oven, wash beef and trim of excess fat, if desired, and put into water. Turn down heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil (~ 15-20 min). Turn down to medium heat. * Tip: You can use frozen beef too!
7. Once beef is cooked thoroughly, remove from pot and cut off bones, if you used this type of cut. Cut meat into edible chunks and return back to pot.  * Tip: You will want to skim off the foamy, beige junk that will accumulate on the top of the soup. Just take a large spoon and skim it off and discard it. These are the impurities of the meat, called the leas.
8. Add potatoes and let simmer for 20 minutes before serving.
9. Serve with sour cream and/or vinegar, and fresh crusty bread.

This soup is serious soul food for me – the smell & taste reminds me of my childhood at my grandmother’s farmhouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario!

Love this soup? Check out my Nontraditional Borscht recipe called Twisted Borscht Soup – a healthier version that you can make with chicken, if you like.

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I hope you enjoyed this Russian Food Recipe on Cooking with Kimberly! Until next time…

Eat Deliciously,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Be sure to check out the Cooking with Kimberly Store for neat foodie products!

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