Winter Borscht

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe when I first met my husband. It truly is one of my favorites and feels like heart medicine. Beets are very medicinal in Traditional Chinese Medicine. They are neutral in temperature (therefore neither cooling or warming) and their taste is sweet. We believe that beets calm the mind and spirit, strengthen the heart, nourish the blood, improve blood circulation, and support menstruation. In addition, beets, benefit the liver, treating liver qi stagnation. Also, they support bowel movements by moistening the intestines and relieving constipation due to large intestine dryness.

WINTER BORSCHT

Coarsely chop the following: 

1 yellow onion 

3 cups beets 

2 celery stalks 

1 red bell pepper 

1 ½ cups mushrooms

1 large cooking apple

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2 tablespoons grass fed or vegan butter

2 tablespoons heat stable oil

2 ¼ cups vegetable stock 

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon thyme (fresh is best)

3 large bay leaves 

Fresh lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

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Place chopped vegetables and apple in a large pot or Dutch oven with butter, oil and 3 tablespoons of stock. Cover and cook slowly for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in cumin seeds and cook 1 minute. Add remaining stock, spices and lemon juice to taste.

Bring soup to boil, cover and turn to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Blend with immersion blender or high speed blender. 

Garnish with cream fraiche and a few sprigs of fresh dill.