Kitchen Report

Amid the medal count predictions, fears of terrorist attacks, and complaints of no hot water (or even finished rooms) from the media hotels, you may have missed this fact from Sochi: Olympic officials estimated that 70,000 gallons of borscht (beet soup) will be served during the 2014 Winter Games.

The Monitor’s reporter at the Games, Mark Sappenfield, asked me via Twitter if I was planning to do a Russia-inspired food blog post. (Go follow Mark, @sappenfieldm, you’ll get his honest impressions from Sochi as he reports on his seventh Olympics and encounters things like a $100 laundry fee for a load that would fill half a basket.)

To be honest, my awareness of Russian food includes borscht and the unusual candy you can buy in Brookline, Mass., a Boston neighborhood populated by Russian immigrants.

Borscht is red – shockingly red. If you are going for a color-themed dinner for Valentine’s Day later this week, start with a bowl of borscht. Somewhat ironically, borscht is considered the national dish of Ukraine (listen to a great interview about the history of the soup here, on NPR’s The Salt.) It can also be served cold or hot, with meat or without.

It’s basically a simple soup made from stock, beets, potato, cabbage, and a variety of other vegetables, depending on the recipe.

I settled on a hot, vegetable version of borscht. If you swear you don’t like beets you should really reconsider, especially if you were raised with canned beets. Fresh beets are delicious and sweet, and the potato in this soup gives it a really nice consistency. Your teeth will not turn red, promise.

Don’t toss out those beet greens! Simply chop them up, sauté with a little olive oil and garlic, and then season with a squeeze of fresh lemon,  salt, and pepper. Serve as a side with your next meal.

Beet and cabbage borscht
From Bon Appétit

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 1 large potato)

2-1/2 cups chopped green cabbage

1 large onion, chopped

8 cups vegetable broth

6 2-inch diameter beets, peeled and chopped (beet juice will stain everything!)

1 cup chopped tomatoes (drain, if using canned tomatoes)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

To garnish:Sour cream

Fresh parsley, chopped

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy, large pot over medium high heat.

2. Add potatoes, cabbage and onion, and sauté until cabbage softens, about 5 minutes.

3. Add broth, beets, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

4. With an immersion blender, blend until most of the vegetable chunks have been pureed. Or, working in small batches puree 4 cups of the soup in a blender, and then return to the pot.

5. Add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper.

6. Serve into bowls, garnish with a dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley.

Related posts: Fettucine Alfredo, Mushroom stroganoff, Molten lava chocolate cake