While in Ukraine, we ate soup every day. Temperature over 90 degrees: soup for lunch. Humidity at the tropical level: soup for supper. Long days of teaching, playing, and chasing kids: soup for lunch AND supper. In fact, my Ukrainian interpreter (and friend) was stunned to learn that our family doesn’t eat soup for 4 or 5 months out of the year. But now I am converted to being a Summer Soup Supporter.
This was my first trip to Ukraine. Some of the things I learned about this country are:
- the cities are beautiful (Poltava)
- the architecture is breathtaking (St. Michael’s in Kiev)
- the monuments are thought-provoking (Motherland Monument)
- and the memorials are heart-wrenching (honouring people gunned down during the Euromaidan movement in 2013 in Kiev)
But the thing that struck me most, was the incredible welcome we received by the people. Our days were filled with teaching nearly 300 children and teens English, and pouring Jesus’ love into their hungry hearts. This picture summarizes much of our two weeks in Ukraine:
It may not make sense to you, but everywhere Forrest went, he was swarmed by kids. (The expression on his face it because he’s trying to stay on his feet, and not crush any kids.) Not only is he cool and fun, but these children loved each of us Americans with abandon. The people are the reason I will return to Ukraine!
And now, back to the daily serving of soup:
Borscht comes in thousands of different forms. My favorite is a beet-based borscht (try saying that 10 times! 😄). To avoid the neon-red coloring of traditional beets, I choose golden beets from the local farmer’s market. Then I add the colours of a Ukrainian sunset: carrots, purple onion, Yukon gold potatoes, and a sweet potato. Then of course, there has to be cabbage!
One warning about this borscht recipe: it is definitely Carlotta-style! I typically like substantial soups. Lots of chunks, and less broth. With this particular batch, however, it came from necessity. My jumbo stockpot was already in use! This borscht would be better with 10 cups of broth, but with all the veggies I had shoved into the pot, there was room for only 8 cups. Wah, wah….
Borscht is usually served with a dollop of sour cream, but I’m trying to limit my dairy intake.
Even if it’s 90 degrees and humid, you will definitely enjoy this light, satisfying, healthy soup. Your tummy will definitely say Спасибо! (pronounced “spasiba”, or Thank You!)
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Golden Borscht
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
A rich and satisfying, yet somehow light and refreshing, version of traditional Ukrainian borscht
Ingredients
- 8–10 cups broth and water (2 boxes vegetable or chicken broth, and 2 cups water)
- 3–4 normal sized golden beets, or 1 super-sized
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 4 carrots
- 2–3 potatoes (Yukon gold)
- 1 large red onion
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 small head cabbage
- 1 can cannelini beans
- 4 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Peel and cut the beets into bite-sized chunks, then boil in 4 cups of the broth/water for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and cut potatoes and sweet potato. Add them to the pot, pouring in broth as needed to cover the vegetables.
- While they are boiling, sauté thinly sliced carrots and red onion in oil until tender. Then add them to the soup pot.
- Remove any damaged outer leaves and the core from the cabbage head. Shave thinly, and add to pot.
- Rinse and drain cannelini beans, and add to the soup, along with finely chopped fresh dill.
- Season to taste. (Because the broth I use contains salt, only black pepper is added.)
