Vegetarian Borscht

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beet root, beets, Borscht, carrots, dill, food, garlic, potatoes, recipe, root vegetables, soup, vegan, Vegetable Broth, vegetables, vegetarian

Getting away from the decadence and over abundance of sweet desserts that the winter holidays so often bring you may be craving a hearty, savory and yet healthy meal to add to your cooking repertoire this January. This soup is packed with healthy, winter root vegetables, savory vegetable stock and fresh or dried herbs which add lots of flavor. It’s also vegan if you choose to leave out the sour cream on top, but since it really adds to the flavor of the soup I would highly recommend using a vegan sour cream alternative instead. You don’t have to feel guilty about a second helping of this soup, so make a large pot of it this winter season and sit back and relax with with a large steaming bowl of tasty soup that will surely satisfy your hunger and your taste-buds!

Adapted from Kochbar.de

5 Red Beets
4 Potatoes
4 Carrots
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tbs Oil
2 Tbs Tomato Paste
1/2 Head of White Cabbage
2 liters Vegetable Broth (homemade or from bouillon)
3 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbs Sugar
1 Bay Leaf
1 bunch of fresh Dill or Dried Dill to taste
Juice of 1 Lemon, Salt and Pepper to taste
Sour Cream for serving (optional)

Wash and peel the root vegetables. Chop them into bite-sized pieces. Cut the cabbage into strips and then cut the strips into rectangular bite-sized pieces. Peel the garlic and mince it. In a large soup pot or dutch oven saute the garlic in hot oil until fragrant, about a minute. Then add the tomato paste and stir to combine, cooking about a minute more. Add the root vegetables and the cabbage to the pot stirring well. Add the vegetable broth, balsamic vinegar, sugar and the bay leaf and stir until everything is well combined. Let simmer with a lid tilted on top for about 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Once the vegetables are soft stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh or dried dill and a dollop of sour cream on top. Guten Appetit!

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Grünkohl (Kale) with Potatoes and Sausage

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food, Germany, Grünkohl, kale, oats, one pot meal, potatoes, recipe, stew, vegetarian

This was the first thing I ate when we got back to Germany after visiting with my family for three weeks in upstate NY. We had a great time and lots of good food while we were there but as it always is when you are traveling long distances you can’t transport much in the way of fresh and/or perishable food stuffs and the airport/airline fare just doesn’t pass as real food if you ask me. Therefore, we were all quite famished after a nearly 7 hour flight and two sandwiching car rides which brought us back to our house early on a Sunday morning. This also meant that not a single store (except maybe a gas station) would be open. Luckily for us, though, Thomas’ mother had made up a large pot of “Grünkohl” the day before that was waiting for us in our fridge when we got back and it only needed to be reheated and eaten. I love kale and I have prepared it in many ways, but my usual preparation, which is of Italian origin, I suppose, is to cook it with chopped tomatoes, lots of garlic, onions & chickpeas and to serve it over ditalini pasta. So overall, this dish was quite foreign to me the way it was served but I really enjoyed it. I made it again myself (only one week later), added a few changes to Oma’s original recipe and I think this is now one of my new favorite winter-time one-pot meals.

Grünkohl (Kale) with Potatoes & Sausage*

*Sausage is optional and can be left out or this can be served with veggie sausage if you want this to be a vegetarian dish.

600 grams (about 1.3 lbs) of finely chopped, frozen (fresh – see note) Kale

2-3 medium sized Onions finely diced

5 medium sized Potatoes peeled and finely diced

500-700 ml Water

2 heaping tablespoons Instant Oat Baby Cereal called “Schmelzflocken”

(or you can substitute with oat flour by finely grinding quick oats in a coffee grinder or mill)

4-6 tablespoons Butter

Sausage or Veggie Sausage (I used Mettwurst) cut into rounds

Salt and Pepper to taste

If you are using fresh kale, wash it and remove the large stem part. Chop it finely and cook it down until it’s wilted and tender. You’ll need at least 3 cups of cooked kale.

In a large soup pot melt 2 tablespoons of butter and then saute the onions until translucent. Add the frozen kale to the pot along with 1/2 liter of water. Simmer with the lid on and stir occasionally until the kale is completely thawed and hot, about 20-30 minutes. This step may take longer if you are using fresh kale. Add the potatoes and cook until very tender, another 20-30 minutes. If at any time the pot gets too dry and the contents start to stick to the bottom of the pot add more water, 100 ml at a time, until you can stir again easily but the mixture is still thick. With a potato masher or large spoon mash the potatoes as well as you can, there will still be small pieces of potatoes remaining. Continue simmering and stir in the oat flakes/oat flour, remaining butter, salt and pepper. If you’re using sausage add it now and let it simmer for at least another 10 to 15 minutes or until it’s cooked through. This dish tastes better the next day and you can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. When reheating make sure to add a little extra water as it will firm up in the fridge and stir often.

Guten Appetit!