Soup

It is the last day of April and all I can think of is soup. I'm sitting at my desk, my fingers are cold and when they hit the keyboard I can sense chill spreading. It might be just the millions specks of dust hiding around the keys, but I swear these are actually particles of cold.

Soup.

Not just any soup. Borscht. Because I'm sitting here and writing about Malevich's love for food, and I'm translating what he wrote, and it was about borscht. With potatoes, and beets, and beans. With a large dollop of sour cream. Borscht is where the Russian soul is.  Don't bother looking elsewhere.

Here is a recipe that is kind of an amalgamation of many. And remember - like with any Russian item, the key to a good borscht is eating it on the next day. Deferred satisfaction. Its a Russian thing, ladies.


Beef-less Borscht (I don't like meat in my soup..)
Ingridents:


3 14 oz. cartons of beef stock
1 small head of cabbage, shredded
5 large potatoes, cubed into 1/8s
1 large carrot, sliced
3 large or 2 extra large beets, grated
1 med. onion, sliced thinly
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons tomato paste
a teaspoon of sour salt
3-5 cloves garlic, mashed
salt and pepper


Preparation:



Bring beef stock to a boil. Add cubed potatoes, carrots, beets and bay leaf - bring to a boil again. Cook, simmering for about 30 minutes. Add the cabbage and simmer another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan fry the sliced onion until it begins to caramelize, stirring gently from time to time. Add tomato paste. Mix everything and fry for another minute or two. Remove from stove and add mashed garlic. Then add fried onion with garlic to the soup, mixing well. Add butter and sour salt (that's the secret of a good borscht!). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and simmer on very low heat for another 30 minutes.

Then take off heat and wait for a day.

Reheat. Serve with garlic rubbed slice of rye bread, a bit of chopped parsley, and a dollop of sour cream.

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