Borscht

Recipe from Food Safari - Fantastic!!

This is one of the most beautiful soups you can imagine - the pink of the beetroots is amazing. It is also really delicious

1 kg beetroot, topped and tailed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 litres of chicken stock
3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 large bunch of fresh dill roughly chopped,
3-4 cups water
1 tbsp sugar
Pepper
2 tsp salt
Sour cream or yoghurt (about 1 dessertspoonful per person)

Peel the beetroots and place them whole into a large pot. Pour over the juice of half a lemon and add water (or stock) to cover. Place the pot over a medium heat and cook for 40 minutes until the beetroot is tender. The beetroot is cooked when the flesh is tender enough for a knife to cut through to the other side without getting stuck.

Remove the beetroot from the liquid and cut into small pieces.

Put the cut beetroot into a large saucepan with the potato, onion and dill. Add sugar and juice of lemon to taste. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt and add three to four cups of water.

Cover and return to the stove. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20-30 mins.

Blend the mixture. Taste again and adjust to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

To serve
Chill until icy cold and serve with a spoonful of sour cream and a sprinkling of dill, or serve hot with a steaming hot boiled potato added to each person’s bowl.

Crusty bread is a must

We ate it hot with sour cream for dinner - fantastic

cold with sour cream for lunch - almost better

Beware of beetroot stains on your clothes!!