An authentic Russian/Ukrainian soup made vegan.
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 5 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 stalks celery, chopped (Optional)
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 beets, including greens, diced
- 1 (16 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
- ½ cup canned peeled and diced tomatoes
- 2 potatoes, quartered
- 1 cup shredded Swiss chard
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons dried dill weed
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 (16 ounce) package silken tofu
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the celery, carrots, bell pepper, beets including the greens, whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, potatoes, Swiss chard, and the onion mixture. Cook and stir until the chard begins to wilt, 4 to 8 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth, water, dill weed, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour.
- Strain half the beets from the broth and place in a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the beets moving before leaving it on to puree. Add the tofu, and continue pureeing until smooth. Stir the tofu mixture back into the pot. Simmer until the mixture is reduced by a third, about another hour. Serve chilled or warm.
Reviews
I added 2 onions insted of one and also chopped up about 3 cups of white cabbage. In addition I reduced the cooking time to about 45 minutes. The soup is delicious
No. No veggie . This is not my grandmas Borscht
creative vegan – love it.
donno how u can call this borscht, more like vegetable pure. worst borscht ive ever had… BLAND BLAND
Made this a while ago.. Remember it being kind of bland. It was good, had good flavor but not enough of it. Borscht is already pretty vegan without the silken tofu.. Think that takes away the flavor.
I didn’t measure my chard or tomatoes. I added one bunch of red chard from the store and a can of whole tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes. I have no reference for what this SHOULD taste like, but I adore the result that I got.
This is delicious, though it’s definitely not like the photo. Note that when it says to blend half the beets, it should day half the entire mixture. Also, just pure the whole thing of you want soup, leaving the other half chunky is also delicious but makes it feel more like a stew.
I ended up needing to put a lot of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper into it (I found it a bit bland as well). I also added some Tofutti Sour-cream on top once it was in a bowl. It helped a little. When the soup cooled you could taste the subtle flavors a bit more.
Love this recipe. I’m making it again this year w/my excess beets. I love that you use the greens. I don’t have celery in the garden so I leave it out, everything else I have. Oh, no fresh dill either–I use the dill seed I saved earlier this summer. And I don’t put in the tofu. It’s really great w/o it. I bet it’d be great w/it too, but I never have any on hand(or veggie broth). This freezes great. I make a big batch or two and eat it all winter long out of quart jars in the freezer. Cracked pepper and a dollop of sour cream and I’m good to go. Thanks for sharing!!
Excellent! I left out the celery (don’t care for it) and used a can of diced tomatoes with habaneros to give it a little heat. My husband and I loved it and will definitely have it again.
Loved it, left out the tofu, made a hardy soup to go with homemade whole wheat bread. Topped with chopped hard boiled eggs.
I love this recipe, I have made it several times!! I love the earthy taste to it from including the greens. I was even asked for this recipe from a family member I fed it to!
Mmmmm…so good. Added some navy beans at the end1
This is awesome! You don’t even need to serve anything on the side, it’s so filling and creamy. I don’t understand how anyone could call it bland, but that’s just me- loved the taste of variety of ingredients and I added some extra chard and used diced tomatoes with chilis, yummy! My first time working with beets and chard and it turned out awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
bland, really bland
Outstanding! I adore this soup! The greens and swiss chard create an earthy taste I can’t get enough of. Although, the way I made it probably doesn’t count as “borscht.” I didn’t have dill and I didn’t blend anything. Just boiled it up and crumbled medium tofu into it… lazy, but still tasty! But do let it boil at least an hour before adding the tofu. Also, used fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones.