Borscht & Cabbage Salad

My mother is Russian and when we go visit her family back in the "old country" (if you will), eating vegan is not so easy. My aunt (who doesn't speak English) veganizes a lot of traditional recipes for me and my mom translates them. My mom remembers eating borscht with a piece of meat and rye bread for dinner quite often. I thought I would give it a try making borscht. It had a very nice earthy taste to it, but not too overpowering as that flavor can be sometimes. Vegan sour cream is a must for this recipe!


Borscht

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 1 hour
* Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 oz. pinto beans
• water, to cover beans
• 10 oz. red potatoes, cut into bar pieces
• 10 oz. red cabbage, shredded
• 2 oz. dried mushroom, rehydrated, cut into bar pieces
• 2 tbsp soy butter
• 10 oz. beets, sliced thin
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 10 oz. roma tomatoes, center removed, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 parsnip, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 small white onion, sliced
• salt, to taste
• sugar, to taste
• 1-2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp celery greens, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp, green onion, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• vegetable broth, to taste (if necessary)
• vegan sour cream, to taste*
• rye bread, several slices

* Recipe:

1. Rinse the beans after taking them out of the can. Place them in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the beans. Keep on low heat.
2. Add the potatoes and boil for 5-7 minutes. Reduce to medium heat and add the cabbage. 
3. In another small pot, boil the dried mushrooms. Strain in colander, but make sure to keep the mushroom broth.
4. In a small pan, saute the pieces of mushroom in soy butter over medium heat. Add to the large pot with the cabbage.
5. In a medium pot, combine the slices of beets with lemon juice followed by adding the tomatoes. Stew covered on medium to high heat until beets are tender, about 15 minutes.
6. Add the beets to the large pot with the other ingredients. Also add the celery, parsnip, and carrot at this time. Saute in the large pot for 10 minutes.
7. Next, saute the onions in the pan you used to saute the mushrooms. Do this for a few minutes over medium heat until they become tender. Add to the borscht.
8. Pour in the mushroom broth you reserved. If it does not cover the soup entirely, add vegetable broth to taste. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.
9. In the last five minutes of cooking, add the sugar, salt, dill, celery greens, green onion, and parsley.
10. Top the soup with vegan sour cream and serve with a side of rye bread.

* Note: For vegan sour cream, I prefer Tofutti Sour Supreme. This recipe was adapted from Russian Cuisine cookbook by Lydia Liakhovskaya.
 
When I'm visiting my parents, I go to a vegetarian buffet on Saturday nights at a Middle Eastern restaurant in town. They always have this amazing cabbage salad. I decided to try to recreate it. 


Cabbage Salad

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 5 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of red cabbage, shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 tbsp green onion, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp olive oil

* Recipe:

1. Combine the cabbage, garlic, and green onion in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil in with the lemon juice. Add the salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Pour over the salad and toss to coat.

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