Borscht with mushrooms and beans
Description
Perfect for lunch. One bowl of this borscht is enough to keep your body energized until evening! So feel free to cook it for the men in your life—they definitely won't go hungry. Borscht with mushrooms and beans is delicious warm in winter and refreshing cold in summer. Moreover, during July heat, try adding some ice chips to it, and you won't even crave gazpacho! :) One thing I'd like to mention— I don't add potatoes to this borscht. In my opinion, the combination of mushrooms, beans, cabbage, and potatoes becomes too heavy (especially for a child's stomach). So I leave out the potatoes and find this completely justified: after all, this miracle tuber hasn't been around on Russian tables for that long—prior to its arrival, people had been making soups and borscht for centuries without any potatoes. :) But of course, you can add potatoes if you like—the recipe for borscht with mushrooms and beans fully allows improvisation! :)
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Rinse the beans, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Then drain the water, add fresh water, and cook the beans until done.
- 2
Step 2
Wash the mushrooms and slice them. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan and add the mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes, then drain the mushrooms in a colander, and pour the mushroom broth into the pot with the beans.
- 3
Step 3
Peel the onion and finely chop.
- 4
Step 4
Cut the carrots into strips.
- 5
Step 5
Beetroot too.
- 6
Step 6
Sauté onion and carrot in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- 7
Step 7
Then add the beetroot. Fry for another 5 minutes over fairly high heat—the beetroot should start to brown slightly.
- 8
Step 8
Add chopped (mashed or sliced) tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, sugar, and red pepper. Mix well, reduce the heat, and cook until the liquid has significantly evaporated.
- 9
Step 9
Check the beans—if they are almost cooked but still a bit firm, it's time to add the cabbage. Shred the cabbage and add it to the pot.
- 10
Step 10
Sauté the mushrooms, boiled until half-cooked, in a small amount of oil.
- 11
Step 11
Place them in the tomato sauté, mix well, and turn off the heat. When the cabbage reaches the stage of "hanging from the spoon," add the mushroom sauté to the pot. Season with salt, add bay leaf, and simmer gently, covered, until all ingredients are fully cooked.
- 12
Step 12
Add minced garlic and herbs 5 minutes before the end of cooking. Let the borscht rest, covered, for at least half an hour, then ladle into bowls and serve with rye bread, sour cream, and a shot of homemade pepper vodka! ;)