Navy Bean Borsch
Submitted by ladygrey
Navy bean borscht with beef, bacon, kielbasa, beets, cabbage, and potatoes in a sweet-sour broth. A hearty Polish-style beet soup thickened with a butter-flour paste and topped with sour cream.
YIELD
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READY
This is a full-production borscht that fills a pot and feeds a crowd. Beef, bacon, and kielbasa build a deeply meaty broth, while eight beets, cabbage, leeks, and potatoes turn it into a meal that sticks to your ribs through the coldest winter nights.
The clever trick here is using beets two ways. Cooked beets go into the soup for body and flavor, while small raw beets get grated and soaked in water. That ruby-red beet water gets stirred in at the end for a brilliant crimson color without overcooking any beets to mush.
Red wine vinegar and sugar create the sweet-sour balance that defines a good borscht. Taste as you go and adjust; some prefer more pucker, others want it sweeter. There’s no single right answer.
A butter-and-flour paste stirred in at the end gives the broth just enough body to coat a spoon without making it heavy. Navy beans round things out with starch and protein.
Chef Tips
- Soak the beans overnight and cook them separately; adding dried beans directly to acidic soup prevents them from softening
- Skim the fat from the beef broth early and often for a cleaner-tasting soup
- This soup is better the next day after the flavors have had time to meld overnight
- Top each bowl with a generous dollop of sour cream
Variations
- Skip the kielbasa for a lighter version; the beef and bacon provide plenty of meat
- Add a handful of fresh dill stirred in at the end for a classic Eastern European finish
- Use white beans or kidney beans if you can’t find navy beans
Ingredients
Directions
Cover beans with water and allow to soak overnight: cook until tender; drain and set aside.
Place beef, bacon and water in large soup pot; bring to a boil.
Skim fat from surface.
Add bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, parsley, carrot, celery, onion and salt.
Cover and simmer over low heat for about 1½ hours.
Scrub beets for soup and cook in boiling water until tender, about 45 minutes; drain and discard water; cool.
Peel and cut each beet into eighths.
Scrub small beets; grate; cover with water to soak.
Remove meat from soup; set aside.
Strain soup into anothe pot and add cooked beats, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, tomatos, tomnato paste, vinegar, sugar, beef and bacon.
Bring to a boil and simmer 45 minutes.
Cut kielbasa into chunks and add with navy beans to soup.
Simmer 20 minutes more.
Mix flour and butter together to form paste.
Stir into soup to thicken slightly.
Strain raw beets, saving liquid and discarding beets.
Add beet liquid to soup.
Additional sugar or vinegar may be added for sweeter or more sour flavor.
Slice meat and arrange in individual soup bowls.
Pour hot soup with vegetables over meat.
Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.
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