Red Borsch

Red borsch is the soup we serve for Christmas Eve. There is no Christmas supper without the red borsch. It takes quite a long time to prepare it, but because it’s once a year, it’s worth any effort. Of course, you can use ready cooked beetroots as a base and a chicken stock cube, but believe me, it all tastes differently if made from scratch.

Ingredients:

Beetroots (2 kilograms)
Onions (2 medium)
Carrots (2-3 medium)
Parsnips (1-2 medium)
Celeriac (1)
Bay leaves (3)
Salt
Pepper
(beetroots extract, if needed, available in Polish shops)

Preparation:

Peel the beetroots (use rubber gloves if you don’t want your hands to turn red) and cut them in quarters. Peel the rest of the vegetables and cut them in halves. Place all together in a pot and make sure that water completely covers the vegetables.

Add bay leaves, salt and pepper.

Bring to boil and let it simmer till beetroots are soft. Make sure you check on the rest of vegetables as beetroots take quite a long time to boil. When other vegetables are soft, simply remove them from the pot.

Remove beetroots when soft.

Add salt, pepper and beetroot extract if needed. Serve hot with a sprinkle of marjoram.

Serve hot with boiled dumplings.