MY FAVORITE VEGAN BORSCHT

When I published my last post on sprouted wheat bread, I promised to post this soup recipe (it's a little late, I'm afraid!).  This soup has a pretty long history in my life.  Many years ago I read a cookbook by a Russian woman who lived in the United States.  I liked her Borscht recipe very much.  She claimed that it was given to her by someone who had been in the Tsar's army-- thus the name.  Now, this was in my pre-vegetarian days and the soup included beef.  Eventually, in the 1970's, I became more interested in eating vegetarian and I revamped the recipe in a very simple way-- using soy sauce to "beef" up the meatless broth (this was in the days when vegetarian bouillons were not so readily available) and adding 1/2 cup of red split lentils to add protein and body to the soup. I included this recipe in my book "The Fiber for Life Cookbook".

I hadn't changed anything in this recipe since I first "veganized" it, until I made it the other day, when I decided to increase the amount of red split lentils to 1 cup, and I cooked it in my electric pressure cooker, for a change.  It is still as delicious as ever and so simple to make.  Here's the re-vamped recipe, and I hope you like it as much as we do-- it's great for winter meals.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S MEATLESS “TSAR'S ARMY” BORSCHT

Serves 8   (Can be oil-free)

1/2 tablespoon olive oil (optional)         

1/2 tablespoon dark sesame oil (optional)          

2 large onions, sliced 

2 cloves garlic, chopped        

1/2 cup chopped celery leaves          

8 cups water   

14 ounces canned diced tomatoes and juice (OR about 3/4 cup passata)   

1/2 small head cabbage, cored and shredded or sliced finely (about 4 cups)    

2 beets (fist-size), peeled and diced (about 3 cups)

1 cup split red lentils 
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari (NOT Bragg's Liquid Aminos-- it doesn't have the umami punch of fermented soy sauce or tamari.)

Finishing:

1 small raw beet, peeled and grated  

salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

If you use the oils: Add the two oils to your soup pot over high heat. Add the onions, garlic and celery. Sauté over medium-high heat until the onion softens a bit. If you prefer not to use oil: place the onion, garlic and celery in a Pyrex or ceramic casserole, cover and microwave on high for 6 minutes.  Add to your soup pot.
Add the water, tomatoes, cabbage, diced beets, soy sauce and lentils. Bring to a boil, turn to a simmer and cook for 2 hours, OR pressure-cook for 45 minutes, using quick-release when it's done. Add the grated raw beets (which brings back the pinky-red color to the soup) and taste for salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

Serve with vegan sour cream, store-bought, or try recipe for Tofu Sour Cream.

 Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving, using oil in recipe): 174.9 calories; 12% calories from fat; 2.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 701.6mg sodium; 716.9mg potassium; 31.5g carbohydrates; 7.2g fiber; 9.8g sugar; 24.3g net carbs; 9.5g protein.

Enjoy!