beet soup

Beet soup.

We set out to match the delicious Borscht that is seasonally served up at the amazing Beaker and Flask in Portland. Josh is our soup maker in the home, and he’s made some killer borscht before, along with other varieties of Russian-style soups, but this time we wanted to try a new approach to the dish. With a small pork shoulder roasting in the (toaster) oven we prepared the veggies, shredded potatoes and carrots, chopped onions, garlic, and cabbage, and some slow roasted tomatoes. These all went together in a sauté pan with some pork fat, fresh dill, salt and pepper, and we sautéed the life out of them for a long time, trying to break them down as much as possible, and in turn they caramelized nicely, creating that unique taste of fried veggies and fat. Mmm.

We added some boiled and shredded beet, that essential ingredient which gives the beautiful deep burgundy color, and set another large beet to be roasted in with the pork.  Eventually we added in the deep purple vegetable stock from boiling the beets, then the shredded pork shoulder, some chunks of roasted beet and more spices to taste, letting that simmer down and reduce to a thick, dark purple bowl of soup. We topped it with sour cream and fresh dill, and served it with a salad and some of Josh’s homemade spicy oil dressing.

While it was not quite the same as the beloved Borscht at Beaker and Flask, we were quite happy with this culinary undertaking. I must point out the space in which we have to cook. It is small. I mean really small, not really a kitchen, but kind of an edge of our apartment. Our prep area is an 8inch by 10inch section of stainless steel nestled between our big sink and teeny two-burner stove. But hey, we make do! And often dream about the days in the not-so-distant future when we will have a BIG kitchen, a must-have for my next home.