What do I, Dr. Katrina, do to gently detox every day?
Right now, I’m eating lots of soups. One of my favorite recipes is Borscht. The capital B is on purpose—this soup should be honored for it’s contributions to a smooth move in the morning, as well as liver cleansing beets and every-cell-in-the-body hydrating broth.
This velvety vegetable soup has me looking forward to making it again this weekend to last through at least part of the week, and I include it below for your enjoyment.
Borscht
Hands-on time: 30 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup diced beets (about 1 medium-sized beet, peeled—I used a knife to cut off the raw peel; flatten one end of beet by cutting off a slice for safety!)
- 1 1/2 cups diced potato (I used baby Yukon gold potatoes cut the same size as the beets)
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 1 onion)
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced (I made half-moon shapes by slicing carrot in half, laying flat edge on board, and cutting roughly 2mm slices)
- 1 stalk celery, sliced (didn’t have this, didn’t miss it, but certainly good for cardiovascular system)
- 3 cups chopped red cabbage
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp honey (I’m not a fan, so I omitted this)
- 1/4 tsp chopped fresh dill (sure, if you have it and like dill)
- black pepper to taste
To top:
- fresh tomatoes, diced
- sour cream or Greek yogurt
- additional fresh dill
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, bring vegetable stock, beets, and potatoes to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 12-15 minutes. (It’s OK if the potatoes are a bit more tender than the beets.) Drain, reserving the stock, and set aside.
- In the same pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add onions, caraway seeds and 1 tsp salt, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add carrot, celery, cabbage, and reserved vegetable stock. Cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes, beets, and all remaining ingredients.
- Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt if desired.
- Serve immediately, topped with chopped fresh tomatoes, Greek yogurt or sour cream, and a sprinkle of fresh dill.
Notes
Adapted from Mollie Katzen’s The New Moosewood Cookbook.