ISO: Borscht recipe (need for tonight!)

[erinyyc]

I need a good borscht recipe to serve tonight. Any "tried and true" or family favorites out there?
Erin http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[SusieO]

This is my grandmother's recipe. To be honest, this could just as easily been posted on the thread of foods we don't like. My mother made this frequently when I was young, and I just cannot stand it. I'm going to type this verbatim.

Meat Borscht

2 lbs soup meat
1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 bunch of beets or small can sliced beets
2 cloves of garlic
lemon juice
1 can tomato sauce
2 egg yolks
1 tsp of sugar
pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
Boiled potatoes

Cook your meat until you remove scum. Add cabbage, beets, garlic, tomato sauce, sugar, lemon juice and onion. Let cook 2 hours or until meat is tender. If it isn't sour and sweet add a little more of either. Before serving take some borscht in a little deep bowl, add pepper and egg yolks and beat until thick. Put back in pot and serve over boiled potatoes.

I think this was a recipe from someone who didn't use recipes. I did proofread this, and everything's here.

[lsdesign]

I grew up eating a lot of borscht. My mom would take the ham bone from Easter, boil it to make a broth then add chopped beets, onions, dill seed and sour cream. No hunks of meat or potatoes. Martha Stewart, that good Polish girl, has a few recipes in her cook book from '95. Here is one that is called iced but I think I'd make it room temp or hot just the same.

Iced Borscht:
12 medium beets
2 med. onions
2 carrots peeled and finely grated
1 tbls.unsalted butter
2 tsp. sugar
6 cups chicken or beef stock
3 tbls. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups sour cream

Garnishes:
Boiled potatoes, peeled and cubed
Chopped fresh dill (essential, I think)
Cucumber, skin on, cubed
Hard-boiled eggs
Sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350
Wash the unpeeled beats. Wrap in aluminum foil and put on baking sheet. Bake until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Cool peel and grate.

Saute onions and carrots in the butter for 10 minutes. Add the beets, sugar, and stock. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Puree in a food processor of food mill. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Chill or NOT.

Stir the sour cream into the soup. Serve with bowls of garnish.

Note: Cooking beets this way is easy. It preserves the color and juice, and the skins slip off when the beets cool.