Karelian Borscht
a Russian Beet Borscht Soup

Karelian Borscht, a Russian Beet Borscht Soup

A Russian beet borscht soup recipe, made extra hearty with sausage and a swirl of sour cream but also especially earthy and delicious as a vegetarian borscht.

Winter is the perfect time of year for large kettles of hearty soups and stews. Bubbling on the stove, they fill a home with an earthy, smoky aroma that seems to proclaim, “There may be snow and cold outside but we’re warm in here.”

The country of Finland is known for snow and cold. I was fortunate to call this northern land home while an exchange student and hold its people – and its food – close to my heart.

This borscht recipe comes from Karelia, a small piece of land along the Baltic Sea ceded by Finland during World War II to what was then the Soviet Union and is now the most western part of Russia. The recipe is adapted from the classic of Finnish-American cooking, “The Finnish Cookbook” by Beatrice Ojakangas.

Some borscht recipes call for cooking the beets and other ingredients, then blending until smooth in a blender or food processor. In contrast, this recipe calls for cooking but not processing the beets so the end product has considerable texture.

If you don’t have access to or time for fresh beets, canned beets are a more-than-acceptable alternative. And if you’re watching calories, omit even the small ration of sausage and the sour cream. You won’t leave the table unsatisfied.

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. How do you work beets onto the menu? Share your recipe via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. If you like this Kitchen Parade recipe, consider a free e-mail subscription. Once or twice a week when a new recipe is published, you'll be notified via e-mail. How to print a recipe on Kitchen Parade. If you like Kitchen Parade, forward this recipe to a friend who might too!

KARELIAN BORSCHT,
a RUSSIAN BEET BORSCHT RECIPE

Active preparation time: 45 minutes
Total preparation time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
6 generous 1-cup servings
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 medium beets, peeled, grated (about 4 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 small red cabbage, shredded (about 3 cups)
  • 2 carrots, peeled, grated (about 1 cup)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 8 cups meat broth
  • 1/4 pound spicy sausage (such as andouille), optional
  • 4 tablespoons sour cream, optional

Heat butter in four-quart kettle. Add beets. Cook until soft and almost brown. Add salt, flour and vinegar. Add cabbage, carrots, bay leaf, garlic, sugar and broth. Simmer at least 2 hours. Add water if too much liquid evaporates.

Close to serving time, cook sausage in boiling water until fully cooked. Drain and slice. Place soup in bowls and top with sausage and sour cream.

VEGETARIAN BORSCHT Most times, I use vegetable broth, skip the spicy sausage and just enjoy the earthy beet soup in a vegetarian version. It's still hearty and the beet flavor really shines through!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE (How many calories in borscht? How many Weight Watchers points in borscht?) With sausage & sour cream: Per Serving: 298 Calories; 20g Protein; 13g Tot Fat; 6g Sat Fat; 26g Carb; 5g Fiber; 2347mg Sodium; 28mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 6 points

More Recipes for Hearty Soups

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)
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~ more soup recipes ~

MY FAVORITE FINNISH COOKBOOK

Living in Finland, food and cooking helped me make - and find - a home and a family. When I left, my Finnish mother sent along a copy of the classic introduction to Finnish home cooking, The Finnish Cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas. I still turn to it, often, and the recipes transport me back to a home in my heart. It's why you'll find so many Finnish recipes in Kitchen Parade's recipe collection.

More Beet Recipes

~ Those Pink Potatoes ~
~ Borscht Beets ~
~ more beet recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

~ Summer Borscht ~
~ Beets with Feta ~
~ Pan-Pickled Beets ~
~ more beet recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture, my food blog

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The soup has a lovely colour indeed! I keep coming across Ojakangas name - maybe it's time to buy one of her books after all:)

Good to know that Soup's On until Feb 28th - I might be able to make it after my trip!

2/16/2007
 
I made this last night, and it was delicious, thankyou. a nice compromise between some of the highly elaborate borscht recipes out there, and the ones that you just know won't taste anything like the real thing. I used beef stock cubes for the beef broth, and two large beets seemed to give about the right amount of beetroot. I wasn't sure what it meant to cook the beets until "almost brown" though - they're dark purple no matter what! 15 minutes seemed ok, but maybe it would be fine with no frying at all...