Simple Borscht for Flu Season
Everyone seems to be getting ill at the moment and I am no exception. I have a cold and I hate having a cold because all I want to do is watch terrible, antiques-based day time TV, while cradling a lemsip laced with whiskey. And yet because I am not physically unable to do other things, like shower or go to work, I am expected to them, without complaint.
Also, when I am ill, all I eat is soup. This is partly because, if I am forced to make my own meals, anything more complicated than emptying a can and microwaving is far too taxing. Additionally though, there is something supremely comforting about a steaming hot bowl of savoury liquid accompanied slabs of bread and butter. This means that even when the illness is coming to an end and I am functioning well enough to put a pan on the hob, soup is still my meal of choice.
This recipe is really easy. It has far fewer ingredients than traditional borscht, meaning it won’t be too much of a shock to the system after being out of the kitchen for a bit. Also, the deep, earthy beetroot flavour makes a bit of a change if you’ve been living off tins of heinz for a week.
Simple Borscht (2 Portions):
- 8 or so cherry tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 raw beetroots
- 1/2 an onion
- 500 ml beef stock
- Some crumbled feta (optional)
- 1/2 an apple (optional)
How to Make it…
- Halve the tomatoes and place in an oven dish with the clove of garlic. Drizzle with oil and cook in a 180 degree oven for 20-25 minutes
- Finely dice the onion and fry in a large pan, in a little oil, until soft. Peel and dice the beetroots and add to the pan. Cover with the beef stock and leave to simmer for around 10 minutes.
- Once the tomatoes are soft, pass them through a sieve, to remove the seeds and skin, and add to the beetroot and stock.
- Now transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Check the seasoning and transfer back to the pan to fully heat through before serving.
- To serve, crumble over the feta and finely slice the apple into matchsticks, to top the soup with. If you don’t have either of these, don’t worry the soup will still be perfect and delicious.
Washing up Rating:**
I used… A knife, a chopping board, an oven tray, a pan, a peeler, a sieve and a blender.
Cost Rating: ***
I used… 1/3 a punnet of tomatoes costing £1.50, 1/20 of a bulb of garlic costing 30p, 2 beetroots costing £1.10, 1/2 an onion costing 33p, 1 beef stock pot costing 25p, 1/5 of a pack of feta costing £1.30 and 1/2 an apple costing 28p. Total Cost: £2.44 (£1.22 per serving)