Best Grammas Summa Borscht Recipes

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the beets in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook uncovered until the beets are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the beets to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and also set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid, the chicken stock, sour cream, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper. Peel the cooled beets with a small paring knife or rub the skins off with your hands. Cut the beets in small to medium dice. Add the beets, cucumber, scallions, and dill to the soup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Season, to taste, and serve cold with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprig of fresh dill.

BORSCHT I

Steps:

• Place water, salt, carrots, 1/2 of the bell pepper, celery, beet, tomatoes, and quartered potatoes in a large stock pot over high heat. Bring to a boil.
• Melt 1/3 cup butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Saute onions in butter until tender, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup of sauce from skillet, and set aside. Stir half of the cabbage into the skillet with remaining sauce, and continue simmering 5 minutes more, or until tender.
• Remove beet from boiling liquid and discard. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon or tongs, and place in a bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the cream. Mash together until smooth.
• Return the 1/2 cup of reserved onion-tomato sauce to the stock pot. Stir in diced potatoes, and simmer until just tender but still firm, approximately 5 minutes. Increase heat to a low boil, and stir in remaining cabbage, tomato sauce, and mashed potatoes. Reduce heat and simmer a few minutes more. Stir in remaining bell pepper, season with black pepper, and serve.

SOMMA (SUMMER) OR KRUT (WEED) BORSCHT

Steps:

• To the water in a large soup pot, add the farmer sausage and cook for about 1 hour: this makes your soup stock.
• Remove the pieces of sausage and let cool, then remove the casing and cut up into bit size pieces.
• Add potatoes, onion greens, dill green, parsley, sorrel, bay leaf and peppercorns (in a spice bag or container) to the stock.
• Cook this until potatoes are done.
• Add the farmer sausage pieces back into the soup.
• Add salt to taste.
• Serve hot with heaping tablespoon of sour cream in each serving.
• Good served with fresh homemade brown bread.
• The farmer sausage can be substituted with a smoked ham hock.

GRAMMA'S SUMMA BORSCHT

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a large stockpot. Gently drop the ham into the boiling water; add 1 chopped onion, dill, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover the stockpot, and simmer 1 hour.
• Remove ham from broth. Cut as much meat from the bone as possible, cut into dice, and refrigerate. Return bone and any undesirable meat chunks to the broth. Cover and let simmer an additional 3 hours.
• Remove and discard the bone and any large chunks of meat from the broth. Strain the broth through cheesecloth and return strained broth to the stockpot; place over medium heat. Add 1/2 chopped onion to the broth; season with salt and black pepper. Stir diced potatoes into the broth, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium low; cook at a simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat to cool, about 20 minutes.
• Whisk egg, flour, and about 1/4 cup of the buttermilk together in a bowl until smooth with no lumps; set aside.
• Pour remaining buttermilk into the simmering broth. Stir egg mixture into the stockpot; bring the mixture to simmer over medium heat and reduce heat to low. Stir diced ham into the simmering soup; cook until hot, about 15 minutes.

MOM'S BORSCHT

Steps:

• Brown ground beef in a medium frying pan or dutch oven. When beef is half-browned, add onions and cook until remainder of beef is browned.
• Add remaining ingredients to dutch oven, then add beef/onion mixture.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-60 minutes, until vegetables are tender.