borscht

• 3 carrots, cubed
• 1 parsnip, cubed
• 1/2 celeriac, cubed
• 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 small white cabbage, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 l vegetable stock
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 8 black peppercorns
• a bunch of beetroots
• a couple of potatoes quartered or halved
• 3 tsp plain flour to thicken

to serve:

• soured or normal cream
• baguette

take a bunch of root vegetables (e.g. 3 carrots, 1 parsnip and a half celeriac). peel and chop into smallish cubes. heat the oil in a large pan and fry the vegetables until they start browning on the edges (about 10-15 minutes). add the onion and cabbage(i leave this out because i hate cabbage and it tastes good without it). saute for a couple more minutes.

add tomato puree, stir well then add the vegetable stock and the garlic. throw in the bay leaves and the black peppercorns. cook for about 10 minutes.

peel and chop a bunch of beetroots (to avoid staining do this in the sink wearing rubber gloves and an apron) and add to the soup.
boil until the beet roots are almost cooked. i think it would take 30-40 minutes or so.

peel a couple of potatoes and quarter/or halve them and add to the soup. add more stock or salt if it's too weak. i usually also use a little sugar and/or vinegar to adjust the taste.
mix the flour and water (best method is to put flour and water in a jar, close tightly and shake vigorously). add the flour mixture to the soup to thicken it a bit. cook until the potatoes are done.

take out the peppercorns and bay leaves.

serve with soured or normal cream and baguette. you can also add a little tabasco.

this soup actually tastes better when it's a day or two old.