Ingredients

1 cup Beans 1/2 head Cabbage sliced 2 Beets 4 Medium potatoes peeled and sliced into bite-sized pieces 3 Tomatoes peeled and diced 1 Sweet pepper sliced 1 Carrot peeled and grated 1 Onion 3 cloves Garlic Lemon juice to taste 3 tbsp Olive oil Salt, sugar, bay leaf, ground black pepper, herbs to taste

Instructions

1. To start, soak the beans in cold water for an hour or two. Then drain the water in which the beans were soaked and pour in water that’s four times the amount of the beans.
2. While the beans are cooking, peel the beetroots, grate them coarsely or cut them into matchsticks.
3. Heat a pan with olive oil, crushed garlic, and spices, then add the beetroot to sauté (as soon as the beetroot is slightly fried, reduce the heat, and add sugar. The beetroot will caramelize slightly, forming a crust and preserving its vibrant color).
4. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper (I used red) and add it to the vegetables.
5. Add lemon juice (taste it as beetroot can be very sweet, so lemon juice might be needed to balance the taste and color). Simmer until cooked through.
6. When the beans are cooked, add diced potatoes to the same pot. After 2-3 minutes, add our sautéed mixture. Bring it almost to a boil and add the sliced cabbage and crushed garlic.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add herbs if desired; in this case, I prefer dill and parsley. Let it simmer for another 3-4 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Let the borscht sit for 30 minutes.
9. Serve with sour cream and more herbs. Enjoy your meal!