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Christmas Eve traditional Polish borscht

Borscht (Authentic Polish Recipe)

Course: Soup
Cuisine: Polish
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 107kcal
Author: Edyta
Borscht - an authentic Polish soup,  is also known as Barszcz Czerwony. It's a classic dish that is traditionally served on Christmas Eve. It's made from beets and it has a clean, almost see-through consistency; it can be served in mugs to drink, or in bowls with Polish mushroom "ear" pierogi (coming soon), or Sauerkraut and Mushroom Pierogi. 
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Ingredients

  • 4 Carrots medium size
  • 1 Parsnip medium size
  • 1/2 Celery root If it's big then 1/4 will be enough
  • 1 Leek
  • 4 sprig Parsley
  • 1 cup Dried Porcini Mushrooms
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 4 whole Allspice
  • 6 Beets medium size
  • 1 Apple any kind, sliced with the skin
  • 3 cloves Garlic peeled
  • 2 tbsp White Vinegar + more if needed
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice freshly squeezed
  • 2 teaspoon Sugar + more if needed
  • 2 tbsp Salt + more if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon Marjoram dry
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place dry mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with hot boiling water. Let them soak for 5 minutes.
  • Peel, wash, and cut into chunks your vegetables (carrots, parsnip, celery root, leeks, and parsley);
  • Place your vegetables and soaked mushrooms* (see notes below) in the large pot, cover with 10 cups of water, add a tablespoon of salt, bay leaves, and allspice, and boil for about 30 minutes, uncovered;
  • Prepare beets - peel them and slice in 1/2 inch slices; peel your garlic and slice the apple;
  • Add beets, garlic, apple, and spices (salt, sugar, and marjoram) to the vegetable broth. At this time, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and one tablespoon of lemon to preserve the beautiful color of the beets. Cook it for another half hour, uncovered;
  • Add the remaining vinegar, and adjust the seasoning with vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper, as needed.
  • Discard all the vegetables and use a strainer to pour your borscht either into mugs to drink or to bowls to be served with mushroom pierogi.

Notes

*Be mindful that some dry mushrooms can be sandy, so allow the sand to fall onto the bottom of the pot or bowl in which they were soaking. You can use some of this water for the broth, but use a strainer, and don't stir the water so the sand stays at the bottom.

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Sodium: 1859mg | Potassium: 599mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 5355IU | Vitamin C: 15.8mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1.4mg