And January has started with full blast. I still have my day-time job at a magazine. Luise is almost fully recovered from her back injury but still spends a lot of time with rehab. And she has just started a new education to become a nutritional therapist. And in the midst of this we have also taken on a bunch of new food projects. All of a sudden, the mornings, weekends and evenings – which are supposed to be our time – have been filled with work, planning and studies. All these projects are very exciting (we will share the first soon) and some of them even puts money in the bank, so we are fulfilling many of our dreams here. But when you work so closely together with the one you love, the barrier between work and private time slowly vanishes. So I write this to remind myself, perhaps not to work less but to be more loving while working. These stressful times will pass, and we are planning to take a loooong trip somewhere when they do.
We have been cooking this soup from time to time this winter. It tastes really warm and nice with hints of mustard seeds and cumin and has a great texture from all the beetroot shreds. We are not sure how or if this differs from the Russian or Ukrainian Borscht/Borsch/Borsjt, but it is darn good. Especially with a fleck of horseradish flavored yogurt on top.
Lately, we have received a few emails from people wondering how to cook good and wholesome vegetarian food when on a budget. This recipe is a good example of that. It is simple, tasty and doesn’t cost much to make. In fact, most our soups and root recipes are great budget options.
Borscht – Beetroot Soup
2 tbsp ghee or cold pressed olive oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 lbs / 500 g raw beetroots, any color, coarsely grated
4 cups / 1 l vegetable broth
2 bay leafs
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
sea salt & freshly ground pepper
Horseradish Yogurt
4 tsp freshly grated horseradish, or more to taste
1/2 cup / 120 ml plain yogurt
Heat ghee in a large saucepan on medium heat, add mustard and cumin seeds and stir constantly to prevent from burning. Fry until fragrant. Then add onion and fry until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the grated beetroot, vegetable broth and bay leafs. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the Horseradish Yogurt by combining both ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Add apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to the beetroot soup and let simmer for another minute or so. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve in bowls with a dollop of Horseradish Yogurt.
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