Borscht with Beet Greens
Timing is everything with the greens: young beet tops cook in a couple of minutes, so adding them with the potato is too early — they go drab and limp. This is the summer face of borscht, built on young beets and their juicy red-veined leaves instead of cabbage and grated beetroot, and those leaves bring a soft, spinach-like tang.
Beet, carrot and onion are sautéed in butter for 10 to 15 minutes first; the fat holds on to the beet pigment, so the broth stays pink rather than turning brown. Parsley root — sold at Eastern European groceries, or replaced with a piece of parsnip plus a few parsley stems — gives the pot a herbal depth carrot alone cannot. Zucchini and tomato go in only 8 to 10 minutes before the end so they keep their shape. If you cannot find 400 g (about 14 oz) of young beets with tops attached, Swiss chard is the same botanical species and behaves identically in the pot. Finish each bowl with smetana — thick, full-fat sour cream, at least 20% — and plenty of dill.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 448 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Cut the beet and carrot into slices, the potato into batons, and the onion into half-rings.
Sauté the beet, carrot, and onion in butter for 10–15 minutes.
Rinse the beet-green leaves well and cut them into pieces; slice the tomatoes.
Put the sautéed vegetables into the boiling broth, bring it back to a boil, then add the greens, potato, salt to taste, and spices, and cook for 15–20 minutes.
Eight to ten minutes before the end of cooking, lower the zucchini and the tomatoes cut into wedges into the soup.
Add sour cream and herbs to each bowl of borscht.
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