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Beautiful and brilliant borcht from the kitchens of  chrismukkah

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I always save the best for last...and THIS recipe is rather well known in Russia (and has a million and one variations, to say the least)!

“Roasted Beet Borscht” as inspired
on TV (foodnetwork.com) and the website.

Taken from: http://www.ukraineorphans.net/id47.html

Ingredients as shown:
*Optional

1 pound beets (roots; I actually used ALL the beet- as in stems, leaves too!*)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 shallot*
2 carrots, chopped (went with 3*)
2 cloves garlic, chopped (went with one whole bulb, you'll see why in a moment*)
1/2 of the leftover container of mashed potatoes that I had leftover from my pierogi recipe- about a cup, cup and 1/2
(I didnt want to waste them, and some versions DO call for potato anyways*)
1 very large HAM bone, with a good bit of meat left on it*
6 cups chicken stock, heated (went with Rachel Ray tm © ® @#$&% vegetable stock*)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey (went with agave nectar*)
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled (used 1 serving of unsweetened applesauce...about 3/4 cup*)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Sour cream for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

The beets are roasted thusly: Scrub the beets and put them on a large piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle the beats with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper as seems appropriate to your taste. Place 3 thyme sprigs among the beets. Bake until the beets are fork tender, not hard or firm, about 1 hour. Set aside.

~ Here I will say...you know what- if I'm going to be roasting beets, I will roast just about everything! SO- the carrots went in the middle- the beets and the greens were spread out on the foil- AND oil is drizzled all over the veggies, along with the salt and pepper and thyme. In a separate foil packet, however, I put in 1 shallot and that 1 whole bulb of garlic, put on a heaping tablespoon of olive oil over it, wrapped it up...

AND THREW IT ALL IN THERE TO BE ROASTED! BWA HA HA HAAAAA :p

...While it was roasting away, of course, thats when I had time to cook my pierogies properly...and of course, eat them :P

When the beets are cool enough to handle but still warm, rub off their skins, and chop them into large pieces. (er...left the skins on, to be honest- I think it makes it taste a bit more rustic)

In a large pot over medium heat, add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Put in the onion...now here I did not roast the onion, rather, I just sauteed it.

BUT- the roasted carrots, garlic, and remaining 3 thyme sprigs and ALL OF THAT FREAKING BEET GOODNESS GOES RIGHT IN THERE! Just let it cool for about 10-15 minutes or so beforehand and you can chop it right on the pan...then cook it in the pot, stirring until softened and just starting to brown slightly, about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken (vegetable) stock and simmer until the vegetables are tender. And this is where that lovely HAM bone- the one that is loaded with such lovely ham, fat and other goodness...goes in there as well!

Cook for about 20 minutes....not really, I did more like 30, and covered.

This is so I could get the meat to fall right off that ham bone, and into the soup :P

Add the potatoes if you like or don't, its optional- like I said, didn't want to waste it :B

Remove the thyme. (left it in there)

Put the chopped beets into a blender and add the cooked vegetables and most of the stock. Blend until smooth; add more stock if the puree is too thick.

Here...er...well, as you can see I did not bother. However, I do have my blender if need be to get this going.

Add the vinegar and honey (or agave nectar) and check to see if it needs to be re-seasoned with salt and pepper. Blend again to incorporate the flavors. The soup should have a mellow tart flavor.

Borscht can be served hot or cold.

To make the garnish coarsely grate the apple and mix in the dill.

Serve into bowls, and garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and top with the apple and dill mixture.

Use a Granny Smith apple because it’s firm and somewhat tart, good for cooking and eating from the hand. And it doesn’t turn brown as quickly as other varieties. (*cough* unsweetened applesauce *cough*)

Lordy, is this good :) As for why I used veggie stock- well, it has a bit less salt, and I believe that this makes the beets the star (other than the ham of course)...if you want to make this vegan...take out the ham bone and skip the sour cream *sobs*

Enjoy folks!

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Allergy warning – recipe contains shellfish, nut, soy, dairy & egg products