"Borsch" Recipe

Mom and Dad are visiting this week and Mom is cooking. Yay! :)

I am sure most of you heard of borsch (or borscht), usually described as beet soup. Unfortunately, many people are turned off by that description. However, borsch is a very tasty vegetable soup and beets are hardly noticeable.

Ingredients:

• Meat (Mom usually buys turkey necks and claims they make the best broth)
• 3-4 carrots, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1 small jar of pickled beets, finely chopped
• 5-6 potatoes
• 1 sweet pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small head of white cabbage, shredded
• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 2 small hot peppers, pickled in vinegar
• Fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Salt to taste

Fill large soup pot with water. Boil meat until almost done. Add carrots and 1/2 of chopped onion, bring broth to the boil. Add beets, reduce flame, and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes or until beets are lighter in color. Warning -- be sure to add beets to the boiling broth; otherwise, they will turn dark (or so says Mom).
Add potatoes, cabbage, sweet pepper, and 1 tbsp of salt. Increase flame to bring broth to the boil and reduce flame again. Cook until potatoes are done.
Meanwhile, saute 1/2 remaining onion in olive oil. Add tomato sauce. Reduce flame and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add onion/tomato sauce mixture, hot peppers, and parsley to the pot. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Simmer for additional 10-15 minutes.
Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and crusty bread.