Borscht with Cabbage & Carrot

Ingredients

• 4 beets, peeled and coarsely grated
• 2 cups Cabbage, shredded
• 1 Carrot, grated
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 potato, diced
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp vinegar, plus more to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• Big bunch fresh dill
• Sour cream, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Sweat the onion and Carrot in oil in a soup pot until soft, 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook 1 minute until brick-dark.
2. Add the beets and vinegar and cook 3–4 minutes — the vinegar sets the color, which is why good borscht is neon and lazy borscht is brown.
3. Pour in the stock, add the potato and bay leaf, and simmer 15 minutes until the potato is tender.
4. Add the Cabbage and simmer 8–10 minutes more, until everything is silky but not mushy.
5. Season with salt, pepper, and more vinegar until it hits that sweet-sour balance. Ladle into bowls, dollop with sour cream, and bury in dill. Even better tomorrow.