Mennonite Borscht Recipes

CABBAGE BORSCHT MENNONITE SOUP

Steps:

• Bring beef soup bones and water to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding more water, as necessary, to maintain the 2 quart level. Remove and discard the soup bones, then strain the broth into a fresh pot, and return to the stove.
• Stir in the carrots, potatoes, cabbage, onions, parsley, allspice berries, bay leaf, star anise, salt, and pepper. Cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and return soup to a boil. Serve individual bowls of soup topped with heavy cream.

BORSCHT

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat.
• Add the onion, carrots and bell pepper and sauté until the onion and bell pepper are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the cabbage, beet and celery and continue to sauté, stirring and tossing occasionally, 10-15 minutes.
• Stir in the apple, potatoes, tomato paste and garlic. Mix well.
• Tie bay leaf and peppercorns in cheesecloth. This is called a bouquet garni. If you don't have cheesecloth, see notes for substitute.
• Add the bouquet garni to the soup pot and bring to a boil.
• Once soup reaches a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Add the paprika, salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper , sugar, dill, parsley, and lemon juice to taste. Let stand for about 2 hours.
• Remove the bouquet garni before serving.
• Serve garnished with extra parsley and dill, if desired, and under no circumstances should you EVER leave out the sour cream! A large dollop stirred into each bowl should do nicely.

BORSCHT WITH MEAT

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup of the beets, the vinegar, and sugar in a small bowl; refrigerate, covered, overnight. Refrigerate remaining beets.
• Place beef, water, bacon, salt, peppercorns, parsley sprigs, marjoram, and dill seeds (or basil leaves) in Dutch oven. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, simmer, partially covered, over medium heat until beef is tender (about 2 hours).
• Discard parsley sprigs. Add 3 cups beets, the cabbage, leeks, onions, carrot, and sausage; simmer, covered, over low heat 30 minutes.
• To serve, remove beef, bacon, and sausage; cut into 2-inch pieces. Return meats and reserved beet mixture to Dutch oven. Sprinkle with snipped dill. Pass sour cream.

SOMMA (SUMMER) OR KRUT (WEED) BORSCHT

Steps:

• To the water in a large soup pot, add the farmer sausage and cook for about 1 hour: this makes your soup stock.
• Remove the pieces of sausage and let cool, then remove the casing and cut up into bit size pieces.
• Add potatoes, onion greens, dill green, parsley, sorrel, bay leaf and peppercorns (in a spice bag or container) to the stock.
• Cook this until potatoes are done.
• Add the farmer sausage pieces back into the soup.
• Add salt to taste.
• Serve hot with heaping tablespoon of sour cream in each serving.
• Good served with fresh homemade brown bread.
• The farmer sausage can be substituted with a smoked ham hock.

MENNONITE BORSHT

Steps:

• Place beef bone in a large soup pot and cover with water.
• Simmer for 1-3 hours.
• Cut the meat off the bone and discard bone.
• If time permits, let the broth sit in the fridge overnight so that fat hardens.
• Remove hardened fat and discard.
• Add onions, bay leaf, dillweed, parsley, peppercorns (place peppercorns in a spice ball, or else you'll have to fish them out at the end), carrots and cabbage.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add potatoes, salt and pepper.
• Simmer until all vegetables are tender.
• If broth is not flavourful enough, add some beef bouillon.
• Stir in tomato juice or soup.
• Continue cooking until soup is hot.
• Serve in soup bowls.
• If desired, add some sour cream or cream to your bowl.