Vegetarian Borscht with White Beans and Dill
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
A hearty meat-free borscht of beetroot and carrot matchsticks, potato, cabbage and white beans in a sweet-sour tomato broth, served with sour cream and dill.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
Unlock all flavours with Premium
This flavour is part of Premium. You can see the ingredients and nutrition; the quantities and the full method are for members.
Premium: $4.99/month or $39.99/year.
Equipment
- large heavy pot (about 5 litres) with lid
- box grater or knife
- ladle
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 253 kcal |
| Protein | 7.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 38.5 g |
| of which sugars | 13.2 g |
| of which free sugars | 0.7 g |
| Fat | 8.9 g |
| of which saturates | 2.8 g |
| Fibre | 7.5 g |
| Salt | 2.07 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 6 servings
Base
- 2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
- 500 g raw beetroot (about 3), peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
Soup
- 1.6 l hot water
- 2 bay leaves
- 350 g waxy potatoes, in 1.5 cm cubes
- 200 g white cabbage, finely shredded
- 400 g can cannellini or white beans, drained and rinsed 240 g drained
- 9 g fine sea salt or table salt about 1½ tsp
- 1½ tbsp cider vinegar
- 4 g sugar about 1 tsp
To serve
- 120 g sour cream
- 10 g dill, chopped
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1
Soften the base. Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Cook the onion 5 min, then add the carrot and beetroot and stir for 10 min until the beetroot softens and the oil turns deep red.
- 2
Add the flavourings. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and paprika and cook 2 min. Add 1 tbsp of the vinegar now, which keeps the colour bright.
- 3
Simmer. Pour in the water, add the bay and potatoes and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer 15 min.
- 4
Add cabbage and beans. Add the cabbage, beans and salt and simmer, uncovered, for 10 min more, until the potatoes and cabbage are tender.
- 5
Balance. Stir in the remaining vinegar and the sugar. Taste: it should be gently sweet-sour. Rest the soup, covered and off the heat, for 10 min.
- 6
Serve. Ladle into bowls, add a spoon of sour cream and scatter with dill and pepper.
Storage
Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze (without the sour cream) for up to 3 months. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
