Uncle Bill’s Russian/Doukhobour Borscht

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
  • Servings: 24

    • About This Recipe

    “This RUSSIAN/DOUKHOBOUR BORSCHT originated with my Russian Grandmother who was a vegetarian. Traditionally, the Russian/Doukhobours used about 1 pound of butter and at least 3 cups of whipping cream. I finally was able to make numerous adjustments to the ingredients and then reduce the amount of butter and whipping cream so that the Borscht tastes just as good, but not as rich. The procedure is rather lengthy, but is worth every bit of that time. The Borscht may be canned or frozen in containers.The original Russian Borscht had meat in it and also they used many red beets.”

    Ingredients

    STOCK

  • 22cupswater
  • 28fluid ouncescanned tomatoes, including liquid, mashed and divided
  • 6mediumpotatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 3mediumcarrots, chopped small
  • 2mediumonions, chopped small
  • 1tablespoonsalt
  • 2mediumred beets, scrubbed and cut in half
  • 4tablespoonsbutter
  • 1/2 cupwhipping cream

    • BORSCHT INGREDIENTS

  • 6tablespoonsbutter, divided
  • 2mediumonions, chopped small
  • 8cupsthinly shredded green cabbage
  • 3mediumpotatoes, peeled and cubes 1/2-inch
  • 2cupscauliflower florets
  • 3largecelery ribs, chopped small
  • 1largegreen pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1largesweet red pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1teaspoonfresh ground black pepper
  • 4tablespoons dried dill weed or 1/2 cupfinely chopped fresh dill
  • 2teaspoonsfresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoonground cayenne pepper(optional)

    • Directions

  • In a large (8 quart) stock pot, add water and bring to boil.
  • Add 1/2 cup of mashed tomatoes, quartered potatoes, chopped carrots, chopped onions, salt and beets and return to boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until potatoes are just cooked.
  • Meanwhile, begin to prepare all vegetables.
  • When potatoes are cooked, remove with a slotted spoon into a mixing bowl.
  • Add 3 tablespoons butter to potatoes, mash well.
  • Stir in whipping cream, mixing well to incorporate; set aside.
  • In a large frying pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter, add chopped onions and saute’ until just softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add remaining mashed tomatoes and simmer uncovered until reduced to a creamy consistency.
  • The sauce will be thickened.
  • Cover, reduce heat to keep warm.
  • In another large frying pan, melt the remainder 3 tablespoons butter, add 4 cups of shredded cabbage and on medium heat, fry until softened and very lightly browned, about 15 minutes, DO NOT BURN.
  • Remove from heat and set aside.
  • To the cooking pot, add cubed potatoes and 1/2 cup of tomato-onion mixture.
  • Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Add cauliflower and celery and continue to boil gently until potatoes are just tender.
  • Stir in remaining 4 cups of raw shredded cabbage and return soup to boil.
  • Reduce heat; stir in mashed potatoes, fried cabbage and remaining tomato-onion mixture.
  • Add diced green and red peppers, freshly ground black pepper, dill weed, lemon juice.
  • Return to boil and cook for 3 more minutes.
  • Cover and reduce heat to just warm and let borscht sit for 30 minutes for flavors to blend.
  • Remove beets and discard or eat them separately.
  • The beets are for coloring only.
  • Adjust seasonings to taste.
  • If borscht is too sweet to your liking, stir in some additional lemon juice.
  • If desired, serve with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
  • Refrigerate any unused portions.
  • Traditionally, medium or sharp cheddar cheese pieces and fresh bread or buns are served with the borscht.

    • Reviews

  • “ow this is as close to Grand Forks Borscht than any other recipe here.Thank you so much for posting it.”

  • “This is a great traditional Doukhobor borscht. Its rich and delish and has just the right flavor, the peppers and cauliflower add just the right touch.For those of you looking for a bright red Russian borscht, obviously this isn’t for you. If you want the pale, cabbagey borscht that is famous in the Grand Forks region of BC Canada, then you’re at the right page. I’ve made this recipe four or five times now, and have learned not to deviate from how its written. its a lot of work, a lot of mess, a lot of prep and A LOT of Soup! regardless of how much you think it makes, it won’t last long and what you do get into the freezer will eventually thaw out beautifully. I often get together with my sister, and we make a pot together, sharing the duties of chopping veggies and so on, then splitting the pot when we’re done. We use my grandmother’s biggest stock pot, and it just fits if we don’t let it bubble too much towards the end. Thanks Uncle Bill for the great recipe!”

  • “Now this is real Doukhobor borscht except for the cauliflour.PROPER!”

  • “This is a five star recipe all the way,I enjoyed making it and washing up all those pots too.I did find that I added a little bit more lemon juice in the end to bring it more together. I will admit though that I did leave out the cauliflower because its not one of my favourite things to eat.This makes a lot of soup, so now my freezer is full of portioned out dinners for those winter months to come.Thanks for linking me to this recipe,and I also left the beets in the soupafter dicing up a little.”

  • “This is similar to “traditional” Doukhobour borscht. I ommited the cauliflower, onions, lemon juice and peppers. I used 1 cup of butter (total) and 1 cup of cream. I sauted fresh dill with the canned tomatoes. Serve with diced green onions, cheddar cheese, dill and freshly ground black pepper. Please note: This recipe will not fit in a standard size large pot. I had to use two. I think I’ll half it next time.”

  • “I served this recipe to some vegetarian guests we had over for dinner.I must say the prep time for this recipe is very intense and requires a lot of time to prepare.It was very exciting for all of us to have Borscht considering we had only had it a few times, from a woman that was from Russia.From what we can remember it was beet bright red and had a wonderful taste with not many ingredients.This soup was more like a vegetable soup that had a light red tint.The taste was good but just too rich to have an entire bowl.We decieded we were going to call it vegetable soup because it didn’t remind us of the Borscht we had in the past.”

  • “I have made this borscht several times pretty much exactly as your recipe.I love it!My wife loves it!Of course, it’s a huge amount of soup, so we’ve shared with friends and family. I’ve also taken to canning the leftovers, so we have it whenever we like.Thanks for posting this Hu…I mean Uncle Bill.”

  • “Wonderful borscht Uncle Bill, I too made some changes, I used half beef broth and half water, and also added some chopped cooked sirloin steak, I only added in a few teaspoons of dried dill, and I made a few other changes also. I made this to freeze in 2-cup containers, as this recipe makes a lot of soup, but ended up by eating just about half, my DH loved this soup! thanks for posting this winning recipe Uncle Bill, this is a keeper!…Kitten:)”

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