Vegetarian Summer Borscht

This light, but fully flavoured borscht is great for summer months. Fresh veggies give this borscht a nice bright flavor and you can enjoy it even if you are watching your calories.

For this recipe you will need all parts of beetroot – greens and roots. Cut the greens and stalks off and cut the beetroots and stalks into thin strips. Cut carrots into small cubes or strips and place carrots and cut beetroots into a pot, cover with boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Then add peeled and cubed potatoes, and in 5 minutes add finely cut celery, zucchini and beet greens and chopped tomatoes and keep cooking for 15 minutes. At the very end, add chopped green onions, bay leaves, whole cloves and add salt if needed. Cover the pot and turn the heat off.

You will need:

For borscht:

• Water – 6 cups
• Beetroot with greens – 12 oz
• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 celery root
• 1 zucchini
• 2 tomatoes
• Chopped green onions – 4 tablespoons
• 4 cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• Salt – to taste

Options:

1. Instead of celery root you can use celery stalks. For this recipe you will need 1 celery stalk cut in small pieces.

1. When serving the borscht you can add sour cream or buttermilk (around 1 tablespoon) in each bowl.

This borscht is also known as: Summer Borscht or Summer Lenten Borscht