Recipe: Garden Borscht

A garden fresh, classic beet soup that's filled with nutrients and comforting to the soul

 —Christine Moss, Chef, The Garden Café Woodstock 

Ingredients:

*Wash & scrub all vegetables and cut into bite size cubes & chunks

• 1 bunch Fresh Beets with tops washed and roughly chopped (It’s ok to use older beets too, just peel them first)
• Beet greens 2-3 cloves of Garlic smashed and diced
• 2-3 Potatoes (yukon gold, red or russet)
• 1-2 Carrots
• 3-4 stalks of Celery- leaves and all
• 3-4 Spring onions (or scallions)-bulbs and green tops roughly chopped
• Fresh dill (optional, but tasty)
• About 1 teaspoon each Thyme, black pepper, cumin and salt

Directions:

In a large sized soup pot coat the bottom with olive oil and saute onions, garlic, herbs and celery until tender. (About 10 minutes)

 Add in beets carrots and potatoes and a teaspoon of salt to help bring out the flavors and continue to sauté until they start to soften. (About 20 minutes)

 Add water to cover, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for another 20 minutes.

 Add salt to taste if necessary. Once nearly done, add in chopped greens.

 Serve hot with fresh dill and v. sour cream

Notes:

• Try to keep the sizes of your chopped vegetables the same so they will be done together at the same time.
• The larger the pieces, the more time they will need to cook, not a bad thing just something to be aware of.