Oh borscht! We used to wonder, how could such a humble soup require so many steps to prepare, and dirty so many pots and pans in the process?! The recipe we inherited, though delicious, used to confound us with the disjointed process and the seemingly endless need to chop and cook each ingredient in a precisely unique fashion.
It turns out, of course, Grandma never used a recipe herself. She would whip up a batch of borscht in what seemed like mere minutes, by memory, steaming and bowled for any guest who came through to visit. Here, we’ve streamlined the process as much as possible without diverging from intent of the dish.
For us, borscht has always felt like a family meal well served… so gather yours around, and enjoy!
Serve with a crusty bread for lunch, or Ukrainian Potato Pierogi for dinner.
2019 -Recipe edited for clarity.
Traditional Doukhobor Borscht
- 1 Small-Med Onion (diced and divided into 1/4 and 3/4 cups)
- 4 cups Organic Tinned Diced Tomatoes (1 liter)
- 6 Tbsp Olive Oil or Butter (divided)
- 1 Green Pepper (diced & divided into three 1/4 cup servings)
- 2 Carrots (1 grated (1/2 cup) and 1 diced (1/2 cup))
- 12 cups Water (3 liters)
- 1.5 Tbsp Sea Salt
- 5 Med Potatoes (4 halved and 1 diced (1 cup))
- 1 Small Beet (left whole)
- 1 Celery Stalk ((1/4 cup))
- 5 Cups Shredded Cabbage (divided into 2 cups & 3 cups)
- 1 Cup Cream or Coconut Cream (divided)
- 1 Small Bunch Green Onions (diced & divided into 1/4 and 1/2 cup)
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Dill (divided)
- 1 Tbsp Cracked Black Pepper
- Set on the stove a larger stock pot (12L+), a smaller pot (8L) and set two bowls (6L) on the counter.
- Dice and divide the onion into both a 1/4 and 3/4 cup portion.
- In the smaller pot bring to a simmer all 1L (4 cups) of tinned diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup diced onion, and 2 tbsp olive oil. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice and divide the green pepper and one carrot. Grate the second carrot.
- In the larger stock or canning pot, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and sauté 3/4 cup of diced onion until translucent (not brown), 1/4 cup of diced green pepper, and the grated carrot (1/2 cup). Remove, and set aside in a bowl.
- Into the large stock or canning pot, add 3L (12 cups) water, salt, the diced carrots, the halved potatoes, the whole beet, celery, and half of the simmered tomatoes from the smaller pot.
- Bring to a covered rolling boil until the halved potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
- Meanwhile, set aside the second half of the tomatoes from the smaller pot into the bowl where you placed the onions, green pepper and grated carrots from step 5. Rinse out the pot.
- In the newly rinsed smaller pot, sauté 2 cups of the shredded cabbage with 2 tbsp olive oil until soft and translucent.
- Once the halved potatoes are cooked through (approx 20-25 mins) remove them from the larger stock pot and place them in the second bowl to mash with 1/2 cup cream or coconut cream, 1/4 cup green pepper, 1/4 cup green onion and 1 tbsp of fresh dill.
- Add to the larger stock pot the diced potato, remaining 3 cups of raw shredded cabbage, and 1/2 cup cream or coconut cream. Bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the potato mash into the larger stock pot, stir. Bring back to a boil.
- Add to the lager stock pot the remainder of the simmered tomatoes, sautéed carrots and onion from the bowl, and sautéed cabbage from the smaller pot. You can now wash and put away your smaller pot and two bowls.
- To finish, add 1/2 cup green onion, remaining diced green pepper, 1 tbsp fresh dill. Remove whole beet.
- Remove from heat and let rest 10-15 minutes.
- Cracked sea salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve with cayenne at the table.
Helpful Kitchen Tools:
-Shredder or Grater
-5-6 small bowls for mis-en-place
-4 cup capacity measuring cup
-Large Stock or Canning Pot (12L capacity+) with lid
-Large Pot (8L capacity or so)
-Two Bowls (6 cup capacity or so)
-Potato Masher
-2 Cutting Boards
Adriann says
What kind of potatoes do you use? Russet or white? Or does it matter?
Sylvie says
Hi Adriann, good question. Our original recipe doesn’t specify but I would choose a starchy variety that would be good for mashing and not too waxy. Consensus seems to be that Yukon Gold or Russet would work, however it also depends where you live for what varieties you are going to be able to find. Hope this helps!
emma says
how much beet and celery do you add? (not listed in ingredients) – thanks!
Sylvie says
Hi Emma, thanks for pointing that out and sorry for the oversight! I will update the recipe now, but to answer you it’s 1 small beet and 1/4 cup of chopped celery, or one stalk of celery. I hope you are able to make this borsch and love it as much as we do!
Val Willems says
Do you keep the beet in the soup or do you remove it? There are no instructions to dice the beet so I put it in whole. Then what?
Sylvie says
Hi Val, Great question. We remove the whole beet once it has a chance to boil. I will update the recipe now! I have to say I know this recipe is rather complicated, we did take the time to try and simplify as best as possible so I appreciate the feedback to correct any omissions. 🙂
Sylvie says
Hi Emma, thanks for pointing that out and sorry for the oversight! I will update the recipe now, but to answer you it’s 1 small beet and 1/4 cup of chopped celery, or one stalk of celery. I hope you are able to make this borsch and love it as much as we do!
Morgan says
What percentage of cream works best? Thanks!
Marlene Detta says
Can I pressure can this soup, I know by researching not to use dair, could I use olive oil instead? , , I like to shred the potatoes and carrots would this make it too thick to pressure can?
Sylvie says
Hi Marlene, I know our family pressure cooks it with dairy and stores it in the fridge, or else you can do with out dairy and add later?
Mitch says
You only say what to do with two thirds of the green pepper. When is the final third added?
Sylvie says
Thanks for bringing this up Mitch! The last 1/4 cup of green peppers is added right at the end with the dill. I’ve updated the wording to be more clear.
Carol Dueck says
In the ingredients it says 3 L water (12 cups and in the instructions it says 3 L of water ( 6 cups)
Sylvie says
Our apologies Carol! It should say 12 cups in both the ingredients and instructions. Thank you so much for pointing that out.
Marsha says
Thanks for recipe. Made it for first time. Comments were helpful. Anyways had a small taste…letting it rest for dinner in a couple hours…what I did taste was YUM!!,,
Sylvie says
Marsha you made my day! Thanks for sharing