Borscht
This is my vegan version of Olia Hercules’ Borscht to support her and Alissa Timoshkina’s #CookForUkraine movement. Join the movement, raise awareness and show your support. Every bit helps.
Ingredients
- 25 g dried wild forest mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 3 beetroots (500g)
- 1/4 celeriac
- 1/2 savoy cabbage
- 5 allspice berries
- 10 peppercorns
- 1 carrot
- 400 g chopped tomatoes
- 750 ml vegetable stock
- 2 tins of Red Kidney Beans (800g)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 20 g dill
- homemade Pampushka to serve (or sourdough bread)
Instructions
- Rehydrate the mushrooms in 500 ml boiling water for 30 minutes
- Dice the onion and gently fry with 1 tsp salt in a casserole on a low heat for around 10 minutes, until lightly golden. In the meantime, cut the beetroots into thick sticks and the celeriac into bitesized dices. Cut the cabbage into four lengthways, then slice into finger-width pieces. In a small frying pan, toast the allspice berries and peppercorns and then use a pestle & mortar to crush them into a fine powder.
- When the onions are lightly golden, grate the carrot directly into the casserole and cook until softened (5 minutes). Then add the beetroot and spices and cook for another 3 minutes before pouring in the tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, the rehydrated mushrooms and their soaking liquid and the celeriac. Bring everything to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the kidney beans and add to the casserole along with the cabbage. Continue simmering until the celeriac is just soft enough to be pierced with a knife.
- Turn off the heat, grate in the garlic and stir it through. Finely chop half of the dill and stir it through the borscht, then serve into plates and top with the remaining dill leaves. Serve with homemade Pampushka.
Notes
Tip: Use 150g dried Red Kidney Beans instead of the two tins. Just soak them overnight, then drain, cover with double the amount of seasoned water and cook until softened.