German/russian Borscht

Total Time: 13 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 12 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 14
• 4 large beets (do not peel and keep leaves for later)
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 soup bone (your choice of chicken, ham, beef, or lamb. i prefer chicken)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped or 1 tablespoon dill weed
• 6 cups water
• 6 teaspoons chicken bouillon
• 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
• beet leaf, chopped
• 16 ounces cream or 16 ounces half-and-half
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 add beets into a dutch oven or large saucepan. fill with water and add vinegar. cook over medium heat until tender, this may take an hour or so. check for doneness by poking a toothpick or fork into a beet. remove beets and reserve juice. peel and dice beets when they have cooled.
• 2 for cooking the rest of the soup you may choose which method of cooking (baking, or slow cooking) that works best for you. add remaining ingredients (except beets, beet leaves, and cream) into a roaster pan to bake in oven, or large crock pot to slow cook.
• 3 simmer in a 250 degrees oven for 6-8 hours or low in a crock pot for 8-12 hours or until vegetables are tender.
• 4 if the broth looks fatty, strain broth from vegetables, let cool, and skim off fat. sometimes i may cook the vegetables the day before so that all the fat will separate and flavors blend.
• 5 add broth, vegetables, beets, and reserved beet juice into a large dutch oven or stockpot. bring to a boil.
• 6 add beet leaves, cook 5 minutes.
• 7 add cream, turn heat off. salt and pepper to taste. enjoy!