food_porn: Blood Stew

Sandra SanTara (

ssantara) wrote in

food_porn,
@ 2008-01-08 20:38:00

Current mood:

satisfied

Blood Stew
My roommate loves Borscht so I decided to give it a shot. Now, I am not a beet fan but I do like the way this tastes when I first had it at the Crossroads Deli in Hopkins, MN last Autumn. So pulling out a couple of my recipe books, I put together this:

We were amazed at just how bloody the soup looked..... oh the carnage!
So we called it 'Blood Stew' Would be good for a Halloween party!

Here's it is in my favorite soup bowl with a couple of dollops of sour cream....

It was quite good for my first try...... The only thing I would do differently is cooked it even longer and more fresh dill.
This is also suppose to be better after sitting over night like most soups so looking forward to trying it again tomorrow. :)

I am a throw together, do not measure much, cook so I put this together as best I could.

Borscht Recipe:
Broth
Two meaty beef soup bones
Celery
Carrots
1 bulb of garlic
1 large onion
Bay leaves
Crushed pepper and kosher salt

Cooked for 2 hours and strained, reserving the meat only

Soup:

Meat from the soup bones
6 small shredded beets
1/2 Cabbage
1/2 bag baby carrots
Medium Onion
4 yukon gold potatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2/3 - 1/2 cup red wine vinegar to taste - I think apple cider vinegar would be good too
2/3 - 1/2 cup sugar to taste
Bunch Fresh Dill with stems chopped
Kosher salt
Crushed black Pepper
Beef broth

Cooked it for another hour or so but do not remember.....
Just till it tasted good.

Fresh dill and sour cream to garnish

(Post a new comment)

	subarashiine 2008-01-09 04:19 am UTC (link)
	AGHHAHAHAHAAAA...drools all over the place That sounds so freaking good, and the color is stunning! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ssantara 2008-01-09 05:09 am UTC (link)
	That magenta color I have only seen in my acrylic paints..... :) Thanks! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	caitlen 2008-01-09 04:25 am UTC (link)
	I'm not a fan of beets either, however this looks amazing! The colour is really vibrant, and agreeing with the comment above, stunning :) Great Halloween faire I reckon! (Reply to this)

	myselftheliar 2008-01-09 04:30 am UTC (link)
	this is amazing. Im definitely making this (Reply to this)

	hexvenus 2008-01-09 04:38 am UTC (link)
	wow this looks and sounds fantastic! (Reply to this)

	corprip 2008-01-09 05:08 am UTC (link)
	I absolutely love beets and a good borscht. Thanks for the inspiration! I might make some this week. (Reply to this)

	donuts2dollars 2008-01-09 05:20 am UTC (link)
	It looks like strawberry compote with ice cream! (Reply to this)

philosofialogos
2008-01-09 05:45 am UTC (link)

Oh. Now that's the recipe I needed when I was trying to make borscht the other day. A student of mine made some from her mom's fancy Russian restaurant recipe that I was trying to duplicate from taste. I can see a couple of things like beef broth and sugar in your recipe which would have probably pushed it closer to the fancy Russian restaurant version (except hers also had lemon juice in it).

As a side note: I had this dream last night that someone I'd just met was telling of their adventures of making borscht and that I wanted to suddenly be their best friend because I'd just made borscht.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	ssantara 2008-01-09 06:28 am UTC (link)
	Lemon juice.... another acid, that is interesting.... I will have to try that. Borscht.... brings friends together forever....BFF.... That is actually very cool dream..... :) friends your LJ (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	philosofialogos 2008-01-09 01:17 pm UTC (link)
	Ha! :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	pagawne 2008-01-09 07:39 am UTC (link)
	Very different from the pink color I was used to. For Halloween, serving it in a white turine would be really neat. (Reply to this)

	badseed1980 2008-01-09 12:21 pm UTC (link)
	zOMG! The bleeding veggies are in PAIN! :P I'm sure it's yummy. I expected borscht to have a more fuchsia colour, though@ (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ssantara 2008-01-09 10:23 pm UTC (link)
	It more magenta then anything..... :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

doosya
2008-01-09 04:54 pm UTC (link)

it looks divine!

to make it even better (if I may), next time try sauteing carrots+onion+tomatoes and beets (separately) before adding them to the soup. add your acids (vinegar and/or lemon juice and tomato paste) to the beets, to preserve their color. normally, you don't need to add any sugar, because the beets have plenty in them. oh, and garlic! chop lots of fresh herbs (dill, parsley) and garlic and add that at the end (just before you turn the heat off). and yes, serve with even more fresh dill. and some vodka, for sure. i mean, drink some vodka with your borscht, not add it to the plate :)

the overall idea is to create a perfect balance of sweet and sour in your borscht.

btw, you might not need to cook longer - it's typical for borscht (as well as another russian soup - the cabbage soup) to taste better the next day.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

ssantara
2008-01-09 10:29 pm UTC (link)

Actually, I usually saute them but was too lazy this time :) As far as color, I think there was plenty! More then I had thought but I will try that.
I personally would not have added sugar, but my roommate likes it more sweet then sour and she actually added more sugar to her bowl! I prefer the balance as well but it still came out really good. The recipes that I look at all called for sugar..... but I am with you on that! More fresh herbs, YES! Also, cooking it longer, I just wanted the veggies a bit softer then they were.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

jaberwockynmt
2008-01-09 06:58 pm UTC (link)

The Polish side of my family makes something called "Borsht" every year for easter, but it's very different than the kind you posted about. I think something was lost in the translation when the soup came over with my family in the late 1800s, so I'm pretty sure the name is wrong, but it's tasty, if very involved (you have to roast a ham and make kielbasa the same day as the soup).

Trim the fat off of the Easter ham before roasting it.
Put the fat in a very large pot with low heat.
Boil your kielbasa in a different large pot of water and beer.
When the kielbasa are cooked, fish them out with tongs so as to keep the fatty liquid.
Remove the hard bits of ham fat from the first pot, but leave as much of the grease in the pot as possible.
Add the fatty liquid to the first pot.
Increase the heat to medium-high until it starts to boil and then lower heat some.
Add vinegar and sour cream, whipping constantly, until the liquid is barely thickened, but mostly white/opaque and very sour.
Let this simmer for up to 1 hour before serving.

1/4" Dice some ham, kielbasa, and hard boiled eggs.

Serve by letting people take as much of the ham, kielbasa, and eggs as they want and placing it in their bowls. Pour the hot liquid on top. Garnish/season with fresh grated horseradish.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	ssantara 2008-01-09 10:30 pm UTC (link)
	Fascinating.... kinda makes you wonder.... But that sounds good too! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	product_junkie 2008-01-09 07:15 pm UTC (link)
	Around the holidays, my roommate always makes a ton of amazing delicious borscht. I have really developed a taste for it and I never thought I would. Yummers! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ssantara 2008-01-09 10:31 pm UTC (link)
	That's me too, would have never thought! (Reply to this)(Parent)

phylsfrills
2008-01-09 11:20 pm UTC (link)

I make Borscht too, but I make mine only in the summer,adding the fresh vegetables from the garden, peas, 2 kinds of beans, wax and green, potatoes,carrots, fresh dill, and I dice the beats, and use the beat tops as well as the stems. I don't use meat so it is strictly vegetable. After all the vegetables have cooked together with salt and pepper, (the dill goes in at the start) I then add enough white vinegar to taste, and thicken the soup with soured whipping cream for a beautiful pink broth that really adds body to the soup. I find using the soured whipping cream really mixes well in the soup and does not curdle like regular sour cream does. I sour the whipping cream by adding a tbsp, give or take to the cream to sour it. I think it is my most favorite soup. In fact, I have some in the freezer now and should take it out for lunch tomorrow. Yum!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	ssantara 2008-01-10 02:35 am UTC (link)
	That sounds yummy too! Have to try it some time! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	smoochie 2008-01-10 12:32 am UTC (link)
	don't be "alarmed'' by your poop in the morning. and no, i'm not a troll....i'm a chef with some beety experience on this subject ! :P (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ssantara 2008-01-10 02:34 am UTC (link)
	It was redish orange to be exact! XD You brought it up! :P (Reply to this)(Parent)

	firstkitchen 2008-01-10 03:26 am UTC (link)
	Wow those pictures look good! That's some vibrant food. (Reply to this)

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