Video:Quick and Easy Borscht

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Transcript:Quick and Easy Borscht

Hi! This is Natasha Levitan for About.com. Borscht is a favorite of Eastern Europe. It is a soup made with beets which give it a strong red color. True borscht is made from boiling meat and as every family from Russia to Romania to has their own recipe for borscht, it is unfair to say that one version of the soup is better than another.

Quick and Easy Borscht

In the traditional cuisine, it takes 3 hours to make it properly but who wants to spend so much time on one dish? So my quick version of borscht takes at least 3 times less.

Borscht Ingredients

You'll need:

• 5 cups of beef broth
• 2 cups shredded beets
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. sour cream

Prepare the Carrots

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Add chopped onions and stir them until they become translucent. Then add carrots and mix carrots and onions with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and have the mixture cook until the carrots are tender.

Cook the Beets

In a separate pan, heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add beets and tomato paste and mix them together until well combined. Cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat to low, and cook until the beets are soft. When the beets are cooking with the tomato paste they let out a really delicious aroma that is really characteristic of borscht.

Prepare the Borscht Broth

Next, heat the broth in a pot until it boils, then add potatoes and cabbage. Stir and cook until the potatoes are well done. It should take about 15 minutes. You can check their status by piercing the potato with a fork and if it starts to fall apart you know you're ready to add the vegetables.

Combine the Soup Ingredients

Add prepared carrot and beet mixtures and stir until both are well distributed through the broth. Reduce the heat to low, cover the soup and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn the heat off.

Serve the Borscht

Add parsley, stir the soup and you are done. Borscht is usually eaten with a dollop of sour cream and rye bread.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the Web at food.about.com.