I loooved this Polish soup as a child; however, I HATED beets. I hated the texture of grated beet so much that I use to ladle the soup trying my hardest to avoid any beets. This time, as an adult, I decided to make this soup my way.
I diced the beets instead of grating them. I ended up calling my mom about 3 times as I was making the soup. I thought this was going to be so much harder then it actually end up being. Like my mother said, it's a mix of sweet and vinegar taste you want to get and that's a personal preference.
I really loved how this turned out. Hope my friends Charlie & Paulina get to make this Polish vegetarian soup. It is quickly is becoming a winter favorite in my house. Enjoy guys.
TIP:
- You can boil more then the number of beets you need & freeze the other half.
- Leave the cream out of soup until you are ready to eat. Adding into your bowl instead of the pot.
- The more vinegar you add the more likely the cream won't mix in the soup.
- If you forget to add vinegar right after the beets & loose color, boil another beet, grate yo regain the color.
Burakowa; Polish beet soup!
4-6 servings
2 large beets, or 4 small
4-5 medium potatoes
2-3 whole spice
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 carrot (diced)
1/2 celery stalk (diced)
2-3 TBS vinegar or to taste
1/4 tsp sugar, or to taste
8 c. broth or water
1 vegetable bullion cube ( optional, if using already made broth)
half & half / vegan creamer, unflavored
Beets:
Cut any leafs & roots off the beets. Wash & take off any dirt. Submerge beets in water and boil in a pot for 30 - 45 min. depending on the size of beets. Check with a fork for softness. Once done, drain beets and set aside to cool. When beets are easy to handle, peel with potato peeler. On a vegetable grater, grate the beets on the larger side. You can also dice the beets, as I did. Set aside
Broth:
Boil water / broth. If using, put in your bullion cube. Simmer on medium to low heat bay leaves, whole spice, carrot, celery, and potatoes until potatoes are pierced easily with a fork (about 10 min).
IMPORTANT : When adding the beets, have your vinegar measured & ready. Vinegar need to be added right after the beets in order to keep the red color.
After adding the beets & vinegar, add sugar, salt pepper to taste. Simmer for another 5-10 min. Serve in a cup or bowl along with a 1 TBS of cram, half/half or vegan creamer.
I make something like this (actually a barszcz) often, non-vegetarian (sorry, I add a ham bone), but less fussy and in a single pot. I peel and very coarsely dice (bite-size) the beets and, often, carrots and, always, onions, but no potatoes. Yeah, I'm caught red-handed for a few hours, but so what?! I just simmer everything together for about an hour, adding as much shredded cabbage as will fit in the pot for the last 20 minutes. I do add a blast of vinegar, but I've never had a problem with lost color. Three pounds of beets makes a nice potful. If we have leftover mashed potatoes, they can go into the bowl instead of a dollop of sour cream (is there a vegan version of that?).
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