I know it’s 80 degrees outside, and the humidity is giving no signs up letting up, but that’s never stopped a Russian from making soup. Enter: cold soup recipes! Finally, a way to enjoy soup in the blazing end-of-summer heat without suffering a stroke.
Borsch is everyone’s go-to when they think of Russian food. Unfortunately, many of you may have had bad experiences with pre-packaged and clearly inferior versions of this soup. I have personally seen borsch sold in large glass jars and understood it to basically be beet juice with some bits of God-knows-what floating around in it. After seeing that travesty sold under the guise of “traditional ethnic food,” I understand your fear of Russian food. But I promise, beets are amazing and delicious, and now that every hipster restaurant is hopping on board with this loveliest of burgundy root vegetables, I hope you’ll try this recipe.
PRO TIP: This base can stay in the fridge up to a week, as long as it’s separate from the garnishes added during the last part of the recipe. I like to chop up the garnishes ahead of time and put them in a resealable container in the fridge, so I can combine soup, garnishes, and sour cream in three easy steps.
Cold Borsch
For soup base:
1 1/2 lbs raw beets with leaves still attached: peel and grate beets by hand or in a food processor; wash and chop beet leaves and set aside
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped, whites and greens separated
1 leek stalk, finely chopped – white part only
8 cups water
1 bunch parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Lemon juice is key in this recipe, so don’t skip it! If you don’t have a lemon, you can use an equivalent amount (about 4 tbs) of white vinegar. Lemon (or vinegar) serves to preserve the gorgeous deep hues of the beet, for once you throw it into the hot water, the colour begins to cook out. It also comes in handy to cut the somewhat astringent taste of raw beet and meld it into the rest of the recipe for improved taste.
For garnish:
1 English cucumber, diced
1-2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
Sour cream
Dill (optional)
Boil water on the stove in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. When it has come to a boil, throw in a tablespoon of salt, two teaspoons of sugar, and the lemon juice. Add the grated beets and turn heat to medium. Allow the beets to cook for 8-10 minutes.
Add parsley, leeks, green onion, beet leaves, and salt and pepper. Allow to continue cooking on medium for 10 more minutes.
Remove soup from heat and let it cool down completely, then refrigerate overnight.
This soup is served cold, with chopped green onion (the green parts you reserved from before), diced English cucumber, hard-boiled egg, and a dollop of sour cream. If you’re truly a Russophile, you’ll throw some chopped dill on there, too.
Cold borsch is most commonly served with a side of peeled, boiled potatoes sprinkled with dill, and, ubiquitously, a shot of cold vodka.
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