Borscht

Ingredients

• 400 g beef soup meat (e.g., brisket)
• 2 l water
• 3 onions
• 150 g celery root
• 1 bay leaf
• 0.25 head white cabbage (ca. 300 g)
• 1 beetroot (ca. 150 g)
• 1 Carrot
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 Tbsp clarified butter
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 200 g passata tomatoes (canned)
• 1 tbsp wine vinegar
• 200 g cooking sausage
• 4 pickled cucumbers
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse the meat and cover it with water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 2 hours until the meat is tender. Skim off any foam that rises, adding more water if necessary.

2. 2.

   Peel and halve an onion. Peel the celery root, roughly cube it, and add both along with the bay leaf to the broth after about 1 hour.

3. 3.

   Remove the cooked meat from the broth and use a slotted spoon to take out the vegetables and bay leaf. Let the meat cool.

4. 4.

   If needed, skim off fat from the broth and reduce further if desired. Clean the cabbage, cut off the core, shred the leaves into thin strips, and simmer in the beef broth for about 15 minutes.

5. 5.

   Peel and slice the beetroot and carrot into strips. Wash, trim, and slice the bell pepper similarly. Sauté all vegetables in hot clarified butter with occasional stirring for 2–3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and vinegar, cover, and steam until almost cooked for 5–10 minutes, adding a splash of beef broth if needed.

6. 6.

   Slice the sausage and dice the pickles. Cut the cooled meat into cubes or strips and add to the soup. Mix in the beetroot vegetables, sausage, and pickles, letting everything simmer together for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

7. 7.

   Serve on plates garnished with parsley.