I have recently found myself buried in so many beets that I didn't know what to do. I get them almost every time I pick up my CSA box and I like them, but come on, how many boiled beets can one eat? How many pickled beets can one eat? And even if you put them in a soup where they're not the "main event", they turn the whole thing purple, as if to say, "Ha-ha, thought you could push me out of the spotlight, did you! Well, I'm beets and I'm here!" I feel like beets are constantly mocking me; they even dyed the inside of my dishwasher pink.
Well then, why not learn how to make borscht? I always did love dill, and the stuff is so darn pretty. My little beet adventure ended pretty well, and I used the water left over from boiling the beets to make beet kvass, which was also delicious. I'm actually drinking some as I write this, though the borscht is long gone.
Borscht is supposed to be made with yogurt and sour cream, but I made mine with goat yogurt and vegan sour cream. If you're a bigger fan of cow's milk than I am, go ahead and make it the "real" way. If you're someone who was lucky enough to have tried some of this borscht I made and want it to taste exactly the same, follow the recipe.
Ingredients:
-2 lbs. beets, peeled and diced. I used a mixture of red and golden. The red ones will make everything so pink that it won't matter.
-2 cups chicken broth
-1 cup water reserved from boiling beets
-1 12oz container vegan sour cream (I use Tofuitti "better than sour cream"), reserve a little for serving
-1/2 cup goat yogurt
-juice of one lemon
-a splash of vinegar
-2 medium-sized cucumbers, chopped
-3 green onions, chopped
-lots of fresh dill; you'll need it for mixing as well as garnishing
-salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions:
Boil a large pot of water. Cook beets for about 25 minutes until tender. Strain the beets and let them cool, reserve about 1 cup of the water for the recipe, use the rest for kvass or to water your plants : )
Mix together beet liquid, chicken broth, yogurt, sour cream, vinegar and lemon juice until blended. Add remaining ingredients, reserving some sour cream, dill and green onion for garnishing. Let sit in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight. This is how other recipes tell you to do it, but I ate some immediately because I didn't want to wait. It was delicious, of course.
Garnish with sour cream, green onions, lots of fresh dill and don't forget to take a pretty picture of this crazy pink stuff.
