Borscht

This is a German Russian vegetable soup.  The beets in it can bleed and make the soup very red.  I like to precook the beets to prevent this.  Roasting the beets is a good way to precook them.  I also like to use a bone in chuck roast for the broth.  The bone gives much flavor and the meat is good to have in the soup.  It is hard to find, so sometimes I use soup bone and a small chuck roast.  For more flavor, the seasoned roast/beef bones can be roasted at 350 degrees for about an hour until nicely browned.  Then it can be used for the broth.  This is a Fall/Winter soup and the leftover soup is so good.  It is nice to cook the beef broth the day ahead.

Borscht

Ingredients

1- 3 lb chuck roast with bone
1 medium onion - chopped
5 whole allspice
1 tsp. pickling spice
2 large bay leaves
2 -3 beets, diced
4-6 carrot, sliced
2 large potatoes, diced
1 pkg frozen peas
1 pkg frozen green beans
1 small head cabbage, cut up
1 lg can tomatoes, mashed
1 can tomato soup
1 cup whipping cream

Directions

Place the chuck roast or beef bones and onion in a large pot with 4 quarts of water.  Place the allspice, pickling spice and bay leaves in a small cheesecloth bag and add to meat.  Bring to boil and simmer for 2 hours.  Remove the bag with spices.  Remove the beef/bones and let cool slightly.  Pull the meat off the bones, and cut any meat you have in small pieces.  This will be added to the soup later as it cooks, so can be refrigerated.

I like to do this part the day ahead.  Then put the broth in the fridge overnight and skim the fat off.

You could also roast the beets the day before, or earlier in the day.  To roast beets slice off the beet leaves close to the tip of the beets.  Scrub them good.  Sprinkle with a little oil and wrap in aluminum foil.  Smaller beets can be wrapped together in the foil, larger ones separate.  Put the foil wrapped beets on a cookie sheet. Then bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  Cool and peel.

Add the carrots to the beef broth.  Cook about 30 minutes.  Add the potatoes, cabbage, canned tomatoes, tomato soup, peas, green beans, and cooked beets.  Simmer for 45 minutes.  Add meat to the soup.  Simmer 15 more minutes.   If broth tastes weak add beef bouillon.

Add the cream and heat.  Do not boil with cream in it.  Salt to taste.

This soup also freezes well.