Ukranian Peasant Borscht

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 8 slices bacon, cut into 6 pcs each
• 2 lbs beef or 2 lbs chuck or 2 lbs cross-rib roasts or 2 lbs round steaks, cut in 2 to 2 1/2 cubes
• 1 large onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 3 -4 large beets, leaving on 1 inch of stem and root attached
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 head cabbage, shredded
• 10 cups water
• 10 peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons beef stock mix (i used knorr, to taste)
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• sour cream
• 10 potatoes (small to medium)

Recipe

• 1 in a large dutch oven or stock pot, brown bacon and render fat.
• 2 add beef and brown.
• 3 cut the onion, carrot and celery in half cross-wise and add to pot with beef.
• 4 also add beets whole with skin, shredded cabbage and water.
• 5 add pepper corns and bay leaves.
• 6 bring to boil, then turn heat to medium low, cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.
• 7 after an hour of cooking start boiling potatoes whole (skin on or off your choice) in a separate pot until soft (45 minutes).
• 8 when soup is ready turn off heat, with a slotted spoon remove the celery carrot and beets.
• 9 discard celery and carrots or use for something else.
• 10 leave beets on a separate plate or bowl until cool enough to handle (10 min).
• 11 peel and grate beets back into the soup pot.
• 12 add grated carrot.
• 13 bring soup back to boil.
• 14 add vinegar and lemon juice.
• 15 cook 5 minutes longer.
• 16 to serve place a boiled potato in bowl and ladle soup on top.
• 17 add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl.
• 18 enjoy.