Borscht I

"This recipe was a good starting point, but I had to make several major adjustments to achieve something that was suitably "borscht-like" for my tastes. I used two beets rather than one (and next time..." See more, I'd use three) and I did not discard them after boiling. I chopped one beet into small dice and pureed the other. I added both right before service. Without the addition of the puree, the soup would have been bright orange rather than the deep ruby color I expect from borscht. Other changes I made: Added a tablespoon of dried dill toward the end of cooking, omitted about half of the butter and all of the celery (is "half a stalk" reallly going to add any flavor or texture?), didn't reserve the 1/2 c of tomato sauce (this step seemed unnecessary since everything gets mixed together anyway), and I used only about half of the cabbage called for and still found it to be a very cabbage-y soup (3 cups would have been serious overkill). Be sure to taste the soup before serving. I found that it needed quite a bit more salt and pepper than called for. Garnished with sour cream, of course. I will make borscht again, but not according to this recipe."

"I've never had borscht before, so I don't know how authentic this recipe is. I just made this to use up some beets--which, frankly, I don't even like much. This recipe, though, is INCREDIBLY DELICI..." See moreOUS (and really, the most remarkable shade of purple/magenta when you use red cabbage...can't beat that)! I even used extra beets (2 large & 3 small), then chopped them up and left them in, as people recommended (I figured it was too much work to puree or shred the beets)...and I psychotically love this soup. I think I could eat it every day. The dollop of sour cream was a great touch, too. I just had the last bowl...sniff...I think I need to get more beets and make this again. I'll try with much less butter next time, though...that was kind of an alarming amount for a vegetable soup."

"Great recipe, but thicker than authentic borscht I've had in Ukraine and Russia. Things I did just a bit differently... I used two beets with the stock (peeled) and when I removed them, I diced on..." See moree and a half and added it back into the stock. I added a little more dill than called for, and I wish I had some fresh dill for garnish. I added just a touch of white pepper, and I topped the soup with sour cream."