Summer Borscht Recipes

CLEAR SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Combine the beets, water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a soup pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add the lemon juice, remaining salt, and sugar and continue to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the garlic.
• Allow to cool, then cover and chill (you can speed this process by transferring the soup to a bowl and placing the bowl in an ice bath). Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove the garlic cloves.
• Place 2 tablespoons yogurt, if desired, into the center of chilled soup bowls. Ladle in the soup. Garnish with diced cucumber and minced dill or chives.

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.

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the beets in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook uncovered until the beets are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the beets to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and also set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid, the chicken stock, sour cream, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper. Peel the cooled beets with a small paring knife or rub the skins off with your hands. Cut the beets in small to medium dice. Add the beets, cucumber, scallions, and dill to the soup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Season, to taste, and serve cold with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprig of fresh dill.

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Add beets, and boil until beets are fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Drain beets, reserving cooking water, and let stand until cool enough to handle. Rub off skins.
• Heat olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Coarsely chop 1 1/2 carrots, and add to stockpot. Add leek, salt, and pepper. Coarsely chop half of the dill, and add to stockpot. Cook until carrots are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
• Cut beets into 1-inch chunks, and add to stockpot. Add wine, 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid, and chicken stock. Let simmer until broth is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the stockpot from heat, and transfer hot soup to a large bowl. Set bowl in ice-water bath to cool; skim off any fat.
• Using the small hole of a box grater, grate remaining 1/2 carrot and cucumber. Serve soup with a dollop of creme fraiche, garnished with grated carrot, grated cucumber, and remaining fresh dill. Give each serving a splash of red-wine vinegar, if desired.

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.

GRAMMA'S SUMMA BORSCHT

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a large stockpot. Gently drop the ham into the boiling water; add 1 chopped onion, dill, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover the stockpot, and simmer 1 hour.
• Remove ham from broth. Cut as much meat from the bone as possible, cut into dice, and refrigerate. Return bone and any undesirable meat chunks to the broth. Cover and let simmer an additional 3 hours.
• Remove and discard the bone and any large chunks of meat from the broth. Strain the broth through cheesecloth and return strained broth to the stockpot; place over medium heat. Add 1/2 chopped onion to the broth; season with salt and black pepper. Stir diced potatoes into the broth, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium low; cook at a simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat to cool, about 20 minutes.
• Whisk egg, flour, and about 1/4 cup of the buttermilk together in a bowl until smooth with no lumps; set aside.
• Pour remaining buttermilk into the simmering broth. Stir egg mixture into the stockpot; bring the mixture to simmer over medium heat and reduce heat to low. Stir diced ham into the simmering soup; cook until hot, about 15 minutes.

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place beets in a 3-inch deep glass dish.
• Cover with plastic wrap.
• Cook at 100% for 12 minutes.
• Prick plastic to release steam.
• Uncover and test beets to see if they are done.
• If not done, cook until tender.
• When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and remove stems.
• Place in food processor.
• Add apple juice and vinegar and puree until smooth.
• Remove all but 1/4 cup of the mixture and put in large bowl.
• Add ricotta to mixture (still in food processor) and blend until smooth.
• Whisk into puree and add lemon juice, buttermilk, sugar, salt and enough water to thin soup to desired consistency.
• Chill well approx 4 hours.
• Divide onion and cucumber among and put into 4 serving bowls.
• Ladle soup over and sprinkle dill on top.