Russian Borscht – Hearty Beetroot and Beef Soup

About This Recipe

Borscht is Eastern Europe's most iconic soup — a deep, garnet-red broth built on slow-cooked beef, earthy beetroot, cabbage, carrots and potatoes, finished with a spoonful of smetana (sour cream) and fresh dill. It is a soup of extraordinary depth, balancing the natural sweetness of beets against the richness of beef stock, brightened at the end with a splash of vinegar to keep the colour vivid and add sharpness. Although borscht is claimed by Ukraine (where it is a UNESCO-protected cultural heritage item), it has been eaten across Russia, Belarus, Poland and the broader Slavic world for centuries. There are dozens of regional variants — cold summer borscht, green borscht made with sorrel, clear borscht, Jewish Passover borscht — but the classic Ukrainian-Russian hot borscht with beef and beetroot is the version that has captured the world's imagination. The key to a great borscht is layers of flavour: a proper beef and bone stock as the base, the beets grated raw and added late to preserve colour (not boiled in the pot from the start), and the final acid adjustment — a tablespoon of cider vinegar — which both brightens the colour from purple to crimson and adds essential tartness.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 500 gbeef short rib or brisket
• 3large beetroot(peeled and grated)
• 300 gwhite cabbage(finely shredded)
• 2medium potatoes(diced)
• 2carrots(grated)
• 1large onion(diced)
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 2 tbspcider vinegar
• 2 Lbeef stock or water
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• sour cream and fresh dill(to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the beef stock

   Cover beef with cold water (or stock). Bring to a boil, skim foam. Add 1 bay leaf, 5 peppercorns, half the onion. Simmer 1.5 hours until meat is very tender. Remove meat and shred. Strain stock.

2. 2

   Sauté the vegetables

   In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté remaining onion and carrots 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Add grated beetroot and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. 3

   Build the soup

   Pour beef stock into the pot. Add potatoes and cabbage. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add shredded beef.

4. 4

   Season and finish

   Add vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste — the soup should be slightly sour and sweet. Add more vinegar if needed.

   Add the vinegar at the end, not the start — it keeps the beetroot colour brilliant red rather than muddy purple.

5. 5

   Serve

   Ladle into deep bowls. Top with a generous spoonful of sour cream, a shower of fresh dill and optional pumpernickel bread alongside.

Variations

• •

  Cold summer borscht (svekolnik): chilled, topped with sour cream, egg and cucumber

• •

  Green borscht: made with sorrel and spinach instead of beetroot — bright green and sharp

• •

  Vegetarian borscht: omit beef, use vegetable stock and add kidney beans

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 4 days — flavour improves with time. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions