Polish Whole beet soup (Botwinka) made with beets, leaves, and stems along with starchy potato and carrots with goodness of all spice berries, pepper corns and bay leaf.
If you are looking for a simple and easy filling antioxidant rich soup with entire beets, then try this Polish Whole Beet Soup ( Botwinka) .
Botwinka means a soup made of young beets. It is also a great way to use up all parts of a beet, especially if you grow your own beetroot or have found a beautiful bunch of beets at the farmer’s market. I served this beet greens soup with hard-boiled eggs .
Borscht vs Botwinka
Both have Beets as Main ingredient.
Borscht is the ancient Slavic word for beetroot. Borscht is a very hearty soup involving several varieties of vegetables as well as meat if you are non-vegetarian. One ingredient that is a must is beetroot. A soup without beetroot cannot be called borscht. Even though it has Ukrainian origin, it is common in Eastern Europe. Borscht is the epitome of home cooking, the ultimate comfort food, the symbol of everything hearty, homey, superbly delicious and rich.
There are several basic methods of cooking borscht, which includes first cooking meat that is properly seasoned, yielding rich broth. Then add veggies and connecting the meat and vegetables in the end. Beetroot is a must. Second mandatory ingredient is green cabbage, and third — tomato paste or chopped tomatoes, which lend borscht their tartness and bright red tint. Major difference between Ukrainian and Russian borscht is the omission of potatoes and salt pork in the latter.
Botwinka is polish hearty whole beets soup, which includes beets, stems, leaves, potatoes, parsnips, and carrots. You can leave potatoes and instead use meat, especially Knuckle bones. Thickened with cream or slurry and then topped with boiled eggs.
How to make Polish Whole Beet Soup (Botwinka)
Ingredients includes,
1) Beet root bunch, yes you are going to use beets, leaves, and stem. Select young beet bunch if can get it.
2) Potatoes which adds creaminess and thickness to soup. If you are using meat, you can skip this .
3) Carrots . Adds extra crunch to soup
4) Garlic cloves : Adds extra flavor, which is more spicy, pungent, and pervasive.
4) Spices: Botwinka soup has trio of species, black pepper, bay leaves and whole all spice berries.
5) Lemon juice and vinegar are added as souring agents.
6) salt and pepper to increase the flavor and taste.
7) Sugar: little sugar added to bring out natural sweetness of the beetroots.
8) olive oil : Adds little good fats.
9) Cream or sour cream : I have added sour cream to the soup as thickener you can skip that with a flour slurry.
Variation to this Soup?
You can either add parsnips and meat instead of potato .
I did not have dill in my hand so used chives.
I made this bread as part of #breadbakers event this month.
Polish Whole Beet Soup (Botwinka)
Ingredients
- 1 beet root bunch Peeled Beets cut it into thin slices, cut the stems and leaves into thin slices
- 1 potato cut it into ½ inch cubes
- 1 carrot chopped into small pieces
- 1 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 cup vegetable broth I used Homemade
- 6 pepper corn
- 4 all spice berries
- 1 bay leaves
- ¼ cup cream / sour cream
- ½ teaspoon vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 chives chopped finely
- ½ lemon juice
- 4 pieces of chives
- 3 boiled eggs
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat, when it's hot add the potato. Cook over high heat for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally (do not stir for the first minute), until the potatoes brown a little.
- To this add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Then add chopped carrots.
- Then add vegetable broth and chopped beets (do not add the stems and leaves just yet). Bring to a boil, scrape all the browned bits and pieces of potatoes from the bottom of the pot with a spatula, and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.
- To this add bay leaves, whole all spice and pepper corns.
- To this add salt and sugar and vinegar
- Add the chopped stems, stir, bring to a boil, cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the beetroot leaves and cook the soup briefly, for about 1-2 minutes, just until the leaves are wilted.
- Temper the cream: add the cream to a cup together with a few tablespoons of the soup, stir and add back to the pot.
- Switch off the flame and lemon juice and check salt, pepper .
- Serve with hard-boiled eggs and chives.
Video
Nutrition
This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
IceCreamnStickyFingers says
I’m not a fan of beets. However, my aunt loves them. I’ll share this recipe with her and I hope she enjoys it as much as you do.
Rebekah R Hills says
Absolutely STUNNING color - so much flavor!!
Catalina says
A good soup is always welcome in my family! This one looks amazing!
Marysa says
What an interesting soup! I haven't made a whole lot of recipes with beets, and it would be nice to give this a try.
Kita Bryant says
Beets are so delicious. I would really love to try this soup!
Karen @Karen's Kitchen Stories says
This soup is gorgeous! I just love the color and the eggs on top.
Terri A Steffes says
How gorgeous is that color? I would love this, and evidently beets are a super food!
Heather - thedomesticdiva.org says
I've never had beet soup before. The color is so beautiful!
Louisa says
I didn't know there was any soup cooked with beetroot, wow. This will be interesting to try out
Lynndee says
My husband loves beet. He always had it as side dish. I do wonder if he had try this soup. Must ask him.
Wendy Klik says
My husband is of Polish heritage and I make him borscht often. I can't wait to surprise him with this soup. Thanks so much.
Camilla M Mann says
What a beautiful and nutritious bowl! I can't wait to give this a try soon.
Richelle Escat says
Thanks for the recipe! Gosh this soup looks so nice!!
melissa chapman says
This seems like a great dish for a vegetarian. I would make this and the beets are very healthy for a family.
Leslie says
Love this soup!
Angela says
A beautifully bright and vibrant soup. Delicious!
Nive says
Thank you for this recipe - I've never tried this before and I'm excited to give it a go!