Mennonite Borsht Recipes

CABBAGE BORSCHT MENNONITE SOUP

Steps:

• Bring beef soup bones and water to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding more water, as necessary, to maintain the 2 quart level. Remove and discard the soup bones, then strain the broth into a fresh pot, and return to the stove.
• Stir in the carrots, potatoes, cabbage, onions, parsley, allspice berries, bay leaf, star anise, salt, and pepper. Cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and return soup to a boil. Serve individual bowls of soup topped with heavy cream.

MENNONITE BORSHT

Steps:

• Place beef bone in a large soup pot and cover with water.
• Simmer for 1-3 hours.
• Cut the meat off the bone and discard bone.
• If time permits, let the broth sit in the fridge overnight so that fat hardens.
• Remove hardened fat and discard.
• Add onions, bay leaf, dillweed, parsley, peppercorns (place peppercorns in a spice ball, or else you'll have to fish them out at the end), carrots and cabbage.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add potatoes, salt and pepper.
• Simmer until all vegetables are tender.
• If broth is not flavourful enough, add some beef bouillon.
• Stir in tomato juice or soup.
• Continue cooking until soup is hot.
• Serve in soup bowls.
• If desired, add some sour cream or cream to your bowl.

SUMMA BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place diced potatoes into a large saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the green onions, dill, and buttermilk; bring back to a simmer. Stir in the half-and-half before serving.

WHITE BORSCHT

Steps:

• Cut kielbasa into 4 equal lengths, and cover in a pot with 3 quarts cold water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then let gently boil for 25 minutes more until swollen and cooked through and beads of oil have formed. Pull sausages from the now smoky and seasoned water, and set aside. Save that water!
• While the kielbasa simmers, split leeks in half lengthwise, then soak and rinse in cold water to thoroughly remove all sand. Slice leeks into 3/8-inch half-moons from whites to dark greens, as far up as is viable.
• Peel potatoes, trim all four sides to stabilize on the cutting board and trim both ends to "box" the potato. Save the scraps. Cut the boxes into large cubes, about 3/4-inch square.
• In a sturdy soup pot, melt 1 stick butter over low heat until foaming. Stir in onion, garlic and a healthy pinch of salt, and let them sweat for a full 5 minutes until translucent.
• Stir in remaining butter, the sliced leeks and another generous pinch of salt, then let sweat slowly over low heat for 8 minutes until moist, bright green and glossy.
• Add potato scraps, the cube of bread and half the kielbasa boiling liquid. Let gently simmer 10 minutes while the potato scrap softens and the bread hunk becomes flabby and swollen. If you need to increase the heat to get a little simmer going, do so.
• Meanwhile, slice kielbasa in half lengthwise. Place two pieces back into the soup pot as is, and then slice the remaining 6 pieces into very thin, 1/8-inch half-moons, and set aside.
• Retrieve the soggy lump of sourdough bread with a slotted spoon, and don't worry if you also get a few bits of leek or onion or whatever is floating in the soup when you pull it out. Also remove about 1 cup of liquid, and set aside.
• Add potato cubes and the rest of the kielbasa liquid to the pot. Add another pinch of salt and half the black pepper. Let it come back to temperature, and then to simmer until potatoes are cooked through, about 25 minutes more.
• Using either a stick blender or a traditional blender, purée the sodden hunk of bread until foamy, using some of the liquid you pulled in Step 8, if needed. Stir this back into the soup pot once the potatoes are cooked through, and add the sliced kielbasa as well.
• Whisk the crème fraîche with 1/2 cup of the hot reserved liquid; stir mixture into the soup. Stir in the chopped dill and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon pepper. Serve very hot.

SOMMA (SUMMER) OR KRUT (WEED) BORSCHT

Steps:

• To the water in a large soup pot, add the farmer sausage and cook for about 1 hour: this makes your soup stock.
• Remove the pieces of sausage and let cool, then remove the casing and cut up into bit size pieces.
• Add potatoes, onion greens, dill green, parsley, sorrel, bay leaf and peppercorns (in a spice bag or container) to the stock.
• Cook this until potatoes are done.
• Add the farmer sausage pieces back into the soup.
• Add salt to taste.
• Serve hot with heaping tablespoon of sour cream in each serving.
• Good served with fresh homemade brown bread.
• The farmer sausage can be substituted with a smoked ham hock.