Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 50 mins
Total: 65 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 6 cups
Perhaps you have heard of borscht, the Eastern European sour soup made with beets and served hot or cold. The Polish word barszcz means borscht, but this soup is slightly different. Whereas traditional borscht is an opaque purple and commonly includes meat, tomatoes, and cabbage, barszcz is more of a basic beet broth that is somewhat translucent, whether red or white in color.
Traditional barszcz is often made with a kwas or sour starter; sometimes people even chill this fermented starter and drink it, as you might with kombucha. However, if the soup is red, then the kwas was made with fermented beets (kwas buraków). If the barszcz is white, it was made with fermented rye flour or rye bread, (żur or kwas chlebowy).
This easy, clear red Polish beet soup recipe doesn’t use a sour starter but instead takes a shortcut and gets the desired hint of sourness from lemon juice or vinegar. This soup is great eaten hot with boiled potatoes or cold with rye bread.
This meatless soup is often served with mushroom uszka (“little ear” dumplings) for Polish Christmas Eve dinner (known as wigilia). When the soup is served that way, it is then referred to as barszcz wigilijny.
“This delicious, warming soup is so easy to make. The lemon juice adds brightness and keeps it from being too ‘earthy.’ I used the mushroom soaking liquid from making uszka (Polish dumplings) plus some beef broth. It was wonderful with the polish dumplings but would be just as good with potatoes or warm, crusty bread.” —Danielle Centoni
A Note From Our Recipe Tester
Ingredients
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4 whole beets, about 1 pound, (or 2 cups sliced canned or jarred beets)
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4 cups stock (chicken, beef, mushroom, or vegetable)
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1 clove garlic, minced
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2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar)
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1 teaspoon sugar
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Salt, to taste
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Black pepper, to taste
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Boiled potatoes, optional
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Chopped fresh dill, optional
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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If using fresh beets, heat the oven to 400 F. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and place on a baking dish. Roast until tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
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When cool enough to handle, peel, and slice into strips or julienne. If you prefer, julienne some for garnish and dice the rest.
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In a medium pot, bring meat or vegetable stock to a boil. Add the cut beets, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes.
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Serve hot with optional boiled potatoes and garnish with chopped dill. Enjoy.
Recipe Variation
What’s the Difference Between Borscht and Barszcz?
What distinguishes Russian borscht from barszcz is that borscht is often made with meat, served with sour cream, and can be served cold, whereas barszcz does not usually include sour cream and is most often served hot. That being said, there is a version called barszcz zabielany that is creamed and served cold.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 4 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 132 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 3g | 4% |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 4% |
| Cholesterol 7mg | 2% |
| Sodium 554mg | 24% |
| Total Carbohydrate 19g | 7% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 7% |
| Total Sugars 12g | |
| Protein 8g | |
| Vitamin C 7mg | 34% |
| Calcium 26mg | 2% |
| Iron 1mg | 7% |
| Potassium 531mg | 11% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
