Borscht. Delicious Ukrainian Vegetable Soup

Hi, my lovely readers!!! The weather in my country was quite nasty the past 2 days and I decided to make some comforting, filling and soothing soup for my family. So I decided to prepare borscht. If you are not familiar to this soup, I'll tell you that Borscht is a vegetable soup of Ukrainian origin, very popular in Eastern and European cuisines, including Armenia!!! I ate lots of Borscht in my childhood and I loved it, to tell the truth. :) :) :) This is a great way to incorporate lots of veggies into your diet. I love this soup for its amazing taste and, of course, for its excellent health benefits. Borscht is traditionally served with sour-cream or plain strained yogurt. You can serve it hot, warm or even cooled down, it is tasty anyway!!! You can make borscht with meat (mainly beef is used in my country, Armenia) or without it, so my vegetarian friends can also try to make this soup. I'm sure they'll like it! I like to serve it with a spoon-full of sour- cream or plain strained local yogurt and crispy croûtons!!! I hope you'll try this recipe one day and share your opinions with me. 

Now let's talk about the recipe.You'll need the following ingredient:

• cabbage (300 gr or about 3 cups shredded)
• carrots (2 medium size)
• beetroot (2 medium size)
• potatoes (4 medium size)
• tomatoes (3 medium size) or tomato paste (1-2 tablespoon)
• onion (1 small size, if you don't mind it in your soup, there are some people who can't tolerate it, including my husband :) :) :)
• garlic (3 cloves, I'm also using some young garlic, too)
• beef (500 gr, it's optional, if you are vegetarian don't use it)
• fresh herbs: coriander, dill, parsley
• Spring (green) onions (optional)
• Salt (to your taste)
• Black pepper (1/3 teaspoon), paprika (1 teaspoon), chili (1/3 teaspoon) - you can use more if you want your soup a little bit spicier, I can't because I have a toddler :) 
• cumin (1 teaspoon)
• bay leaf (2 leaves)
• vegetable oil (2 tablespoon)
• sour-cream or plain strained yogurt (1 tablespoon for each portion)

Now let's talk about the instructions step by step:

• If you are not a vegetarian and want to make the borscht with beef, first of all you should cut the beef into pieces and cook them for about 30 minutes.
• Chop finely the cabbage, the carrots, beetroot into thin and long stripes. Peel and cube the potatoes. Chop the herbs (the coriander, the dill and the parsley), the garlic and the onion, the spring onion into small pieces. 

• When the vegetables are are already cut heat a big pot on a medium heat, add the vegetable oil, the chopped onions, garlic and roast them for a few minutes. Then add the beef pieces (if you are using some) and chopped vegetables, half of the chopped herbs and spring onion (I am also using the green leaves of the young garlic). Season the veggie mixture with salt, black pepper, paprika, chili, cumin and roast them for another few minutes. 

•  Add the tomato paste (or the chopped tomatoes) and steam for a few more minutes.

•  Then finally add the broth (or water) up to the rim of the a (medium size) pot, the bay leaves and cook it on a low heat for about 40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.

•  When the borscht is ready serve it in a bowl with sour-cream or plain strained yogurt and some crispy croûtons. 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe. Have a fabulous weekend. Bye! :) :) :)