Vegetarian Borscht – Beet and Bean Soup
When I say borscht, what comes to mind? I see a steamy bowl of ruby-red soup loaded with veggies and topped with sprigs of dill and a dollop of sour cream.
Also Read: Roast Beets without Foil, How to Boil & Freeze Beets, Beet Salad with Feta & Whole Grains
Borscht comes in many forms. Your idea of borscht may be a beetjuice broth, it may be green from sorrel or it may be white from potatoes, eggs and sausage. You may serve your borscht cold – with or without sour cream. Your version may have a distinct sour flavor or it may be loaded with beef and cabbage. Your borscht may be made with yellow beets or no beets at all. And maybe, you spell it borsch, bortsch, borstch, borshtch, borsh or borshch. Enjoy them all!
The fact is borscht is not just one thing. It is not a single recipe – it’s more of a process created out of necessity by peasants in Eastern Europe needing to feed their families with what they had. And what they had were root vegetables, scrap meat bones and greens or weeds like hogweed (cow parsnip), stinging nettle and sorrel. Their knowledge and cooking skills gave us this nourishing soup with endless variations depending on the season and what’s in the pantry.
The recipe I’ve created for this post is vegetarian or vegan (if using vegan sour cream) featuring beets, white kidney beans (cannellini) and dill. Of course, as our peasant ancestors would have done, I encourage you to improvise and use this recipe as a guide only. Use what you have and make this soup yours.
Fun Fact: You can dehydrate the finished soup and take it with you on backcountry adventures too! Read details after the recipe.
Beet and Bean Soup – Vegetarian Borscht
Beet and Bean Soup – Vegetarian Borscht
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 onion sliced or diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 carrots diced or sliced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 3-4 potatoes (white or red) diced
- 3 cups shredded cabbage (optional)
- 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme
- 2 tsp caraway or dill seed
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 6 cups veggie soup stock
- 2 cups water
- 2 Tbsp red wine or cider vinegar
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 small beets peeled and shredded
- 1 19 oz can white kidney beans (cannellini) drained and rinsed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- In large pot, heat canola oil over medium high heat.
- Saute onion until clear. Add garlic and saute 1 minute.
- Add celery, carrots, potatoes, cabbage (if using), oregano and caraway seed. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
- Add soup stock, water, vinegar and bay leaf, scraping any bits off bottom of pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
- Add fresh grated beets, white beans and salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes until tender and heated through.
- Add dill, taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
Notes
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Here’s a golden version using yellow beets instead of red beets. Just one change and it looks like a totally different soup.
Five Steps to Dehydrate Borscht for the Trail
I love good food at home and on the trail and this soup is great for dehydrating. Why take boring ramen noodles when you can take nourishing borscht! Here’s how.
Step 1 – Make the soup as in the recipe. Use as little added fat as possible and no meat. You can always add dehydrated meat, sliced salami or pepperoni later if you wish. Enjoy the soup for dinner and dehydrate the leftovers or dehydrate the whole batch.
Step 2 – Use a strainer to drain off as much of the broth as you can. Save this broth as soup stock for another batch of soup – you can freeze it once it’s cool. It also makes a comforting sipping broth. Spread drained ingredients on a dehydrator tray with a liner. Cut any larger pieces of veggies (potatoes or carrots) into smaller, equal sized pieces. These will take the longest to dry.
Step 3 – Place in dehydrator, set to 135°F/57°C (see temps for dehydrating food) and dry for about 8-10 hours until all pieces are dry. Potatoes and carrots should be brittle, not soft. Let cool completely.
Step 4 – Write re-hydrating instructions on package and fill (it’s easier to write on the bag before filling). Per serving, combine 1 cup dried borscht ingredients and 1/2 tsp soup bouillon powder (this will replace some of the flavour lost by removing the broth). Remove as much air from package as possible and store in a dark, cool, dry place for up to a year.
Step 5 – Pack and head out on your adventure. To re-hydrate add 1 1/2 cups boiling water per serving and let soak for 15-20 minutes to fully reconstitute – check the beans and potatoes, once they’re done you’re set.
Options:
- Add more starch in the form of potatoes, beans, rice, pasta or even a package of ramen noodles.
- Add dehydrated meat to each package before sealing.
- At camp, while re-hydrating add dried salami, pepperoni, jerky or pre-cooked sausage.
- If you happen to have beet root powder, add a teaspoon to the package for more beet flavour.
What to Serve with Beet and Bean Soup
We like a nice hardy bread or biscuit to go with our beet and bean soup. Here are three favorites:
No Knead Cottage Cheese Dill Bread
How do you like your soup? Do you add extra veggies? What spices do you add? I’d love to hear about your variations. And of course, if you’re on social media – tag me with any photos so I can see it and like it. I’m on Instagram @getgettys and Facebook @GettyStewart.HomeEconomist.
Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist, speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas. She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.
