Spring Beet soup (Polish Botwina)
There are hundreds versions of this very Polish soup. Here you have an original proposition of mine. I used to cook it on the base of my favorite duck and chicken stock. The cream is a must to create wonderful pink color. Optionally you may add a quarter or a half of hard boiled egg to your bowl. By the way, I change my recipe sometimes, for instance by adding dried California prunes instead of sugar, or by adding some white vinegar instead of lemon juice.
There are hundreds versions of this very Polish soup. Here you have an original proposition of mine. I used to cook it on the base of my favorite duck and chicken stock. The cream is a must to create wonderful pink color. Optionally you may add a quarter or a half of hard boiled egg to your bowl. By the way, I change my recipe sometimes, for instance by adding dried California prunes instead of sugar, or by adding some white vinegar instead of lemon juice.
Ingredients
Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
---|---|---|---|
for the stock | |||
1 | each |
duck
wing |
* |
2 | each |
chicken wings
|
* |
50 | grams |
leeks
green part or coarsely chopped green leaves |
|
1 | each |
parsnips
peeled |
* |
5 | each |
juniper berries
crushed |
* |
2 | each |
allspice berries
|
* |
½ | teaspoon |
salt
|
|
800 | millilitres |
water
|
|
For the soup | |||
250 | grams |
beets
spring beet inc. stems, leaves and very small roots |
|
1 | each |
potatoes
ca. 100 g, peeled, diced |
|
1 | each |
baby carrots
ca. 50 g, sliced |
|
1 | each |
scallions, spring or green onions
finely chopped inc. chives |
|
½ | cup |
dill weed
fresh, finely chopped |
* |
1 | teaspoon |
lovage
dried, or 1 fresh sprig |
* |
1 | teaspoon |
marjoram
dried, or 1 fresh sprig |
* |
1 | each |
bay leaves
medium |
* |
1 | teaspoon |
lemon juice
|
|
2 | teaspoons |
brown sugar
|
|
6 | teaspoons |
cream
16% or 18% |
|
1 | x |
salt
|
* |
1 | x |
black pepper
ground |
* |
1 | each |
eggs
hard boiled, optionally |
|
Ingredients
Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
---|---|---|---|
for the stock | |||
1 | each |
duck
wing |
*
|
2 | each |
chicken wings
|
*
|
50 | grams |
leeks
green part or coarsely chopped green leaves |
|
1 | each |
parsnips
peeled |
*
|
5 | each |
juniper berries
crushed |
*
|
2 | each |
allspice berries
|
*
|
2.5 | ml |
salt
|
|
800 | millilitres |
water
|
|
For the soup | |||
250 | grams |
beets
spring beet inc. stems, leaves and very small roots |
|
1 | each |
potatoes
ca. 100 g, peeled, diced |
|
1 | each |
baby carrots
ca. 50 g, sliced |
|
1 | each |
scallions, spring or green onions
finely chopped inc. chives |
|
118 | ml |
dill weed
fresh, finely chopped |
*
|
5 | ml |
lovage
dried, or 1 fresh sprig |
* |
5 | ml |
marjoram
dried, or 1 fresh sprig |
*
|
1 | each |
bay leaves
medium |
*
|
5 | ml |
lemon juice
|
|
10 | ml |
brown sugar
|
|
30 | ml |
cream
16% or 18% |
|
1 | x |
salt
|
*
|
1 | x |
black pepper
ground |
*
|
1 | each |
eggs
hard boiled, optionally |
|
Directions
1 - Cook the stock in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes. 2 - Remove items, and skim fat. It is a good idea to prepare the stock a day before, then cool it, place it in the fridge, and remove fat from the surface next morning. 3 - Rinse spring beets, remove bad looking stems, cut off the oldest and yellowish leaves, gently scrape the beet roots. Chop the beet stems into 1 cm (half an inch) parts, chop the leaves, and slice the small roots finely. Prepare the rest of ingredients. 4 - Heat up the stock, add salt if needed, add potatoes, carrot, lovage, spring onion, bay leaf, and bring the stock to boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. 5 - Add roots, stems and leaves of beets, add dill, marjoram, sugar, and cook for the next 5 minutes. 6 - Stir in lemon juice, add salt and pepper to reach the optimal flavor. Have in mind the fact that the cream will soften the flavor of the soup. 7 - Add 2 teaspoon of cream to your bowl. Another option: you may stir in all the cream when soup is in the pot. When consuming the soup should have a nice pink color.