Borscht-New Yorker Yield: 1 Gallon

Ingredients: cup olive oil 1 pound medium onions, chopped 5 garlic cloves, chopped 1 large celery stalk, chopped 1 large carrot, peeled & chopped 2 pounds large beets (beets should be about the size of a softball), peeled potato, large, (approximately pound), peeled & thin sliced 3 cups chicken stock 3 quarts water 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon salt teaspoon Tabasco sauce teaspoon white pepper 1 tablespoon pickling spice fresh dill, finely chopped, for garnish sour cream, for garnish Method: Place 1/3 of one of the beets in 1 quart of the water, along with the pickling spice, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the beet is soft and easily pierced with a skewer. When the beet is cooked, remove beet from the cooking water and cool. Pass the cooking water through a fine mesh sieve and reserve for the soup. When the beet is cool, cut into 3/8" cubes and reserve to garnish the soup. In a stockpot over medium-high heat, add olive oil and bring to temperature. Add carrots, onions, celery and garlic and sauté until limp. Add the remaining beets, (beets should be thinly sliced prior to adding to stock pot), potatoes, chicken stock, remaining 2 quarts of water and salt to the stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about one hour, until the vegetables are well cooked and soft. Add the white pepper and Tabasco sauce and puree with a hand immersion blender (available at your favorite kitchen store) until very smooth. Add the reserved beet cooking water. Check for seasonings. The salt should taste a bit strong at this point and will be less pronounced with the soup is cold. Add the reserved diced beets. Quickly bring the soup down to at least 45 degrees or colder. (Note: Quick cooling can be done in an ice water bath or with a cooling paddle. A cooling paddle can be improvised by freezing a small clean water bottle, label removed, and placing it in the soup mixture). Once soup is chilled, serve and garnish with a dash of sour cream and a dash of finely chopped dill ««« Back to Recipe Search page