Beef & Beet Borscht

I was telling my friend about these great precooked organic beets that I buy at Costco.  She says she likes to make Borscht with beets.  I can't remember ever having Borscht before, though I know I've seen it.  Well, since I have never made it before and I had the vacuum sealed packs of beets in the fridge crisper, I decided to give it a try.  I looked at a lot of different recipes and then came up with this one for me.  Obviously, the nice thing was that I wouldn't have to peel the beets. The hard thing would be getting my son to like this dish.  He doesn't like beets, dill or cabbage... I used:

• 10 organic "Love Beets".  They are small, so I figured that would be good.  I diced them into half inch cubes
• 1.5 lb beef shank
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• Olive oil 
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 cups beef broth (I used low sodium "Better than Bouillon")
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1/2 lb of roasted grape tomatoes (I did these yesterday because they were going soft and I didn't want to waste them)
•  4 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 red potatoes - skin left on, diced
• 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage (I used a 1/2 bag of Dole Coleslaw)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill (1/4 cup for soup, 1/4 cup for garnish)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 0% fat Greek yogurt, dolloped for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

I chopped the onion, garlic, celery and carrots first so they were ready.

I got a dutch oven and heated some olive oil in.

I seasoned the shank with S&P and then browned it on both sides.  I removed it to a plate.

I tossed in the veggies and stir-fried until soft.  I put in the tomato paste and cooked it out.

I put in 4 cups of stock, the potatoes, 2 bay leaves, brown sugar and S&P.  I brought to a boil.

I nestled the shank back in.  I turned the heat down, covered and simmered for an hour and a half.  I removed the meat at that time and set it aside to cool.

I had my beets ready, the coleslaw and the roasted tomatoes with dill.

After the meat was cool enough to cut up, I removed the bones and fat.

Then I put it back in the soup.  I added in the above ingredients and broth and then simmered for another 20 minutes.  I added in the vinegar and S&P to taste.

I garnished with yogurt and dill.  No dill on my son's.

The beets were naturally sweet on their own, so the sugar was unnecessary.  My son didn't like it but did eat a bowl.  He said he disliked it because it tasted like "beets", but added that the beef in it was the saving grace.  Well, can't win 'em all.  I tried...

I thought it was delicious and am looking forward to trying it again tomorrow after it sits overnight.  I loved the vinegar.  I understand it gets better, like a stew would and that the color deepens as well.  My friend is coming over to try it then too, so I'll wait to hear her thoughts...I hope they're good, as she's getting a big "to go" container to take with her.  😉