Becky's+Borscht

Becky's Borscht (an Americanized version of a recipe I picked up from a family in Russia in 1990)

Cook a small (2 1/2 pound) pork roast with two large onions and salt and pepper to taste in a very large crock pot. Remove the roast and onions, skim the fat/meat stuffs out of the broth and use the broth (about 16 oz) as the base

Mix the following in to the broth: 2 large sweet onions (cut in 1/8ths) 3 large Russet potatoes (cut in hearty soup-sized chunks) 16 oz jar of pickled beets in juice 16 oz jar sweet & sour red cabbage in juice 15 oz can sliced beets in juice 27 oz can of sauerkraut in juice 1 small head of cabbage (cut in 1/8ths and pulled apart) 1/3 cup of the juice from a jar of kosher dill pickles 6 bay leaves 1 tsp dill weed 2-3 cloves of garlic, freshly crushed salt and pepper to taste

cook until the potatoes are tender

In Russia, it was served with ice cold vodka (Russian for "little water") shots, sourdough-like bread, and a dollop of sour cream. The borscht I had there also had carrots (not a favorite of mine) in it but not as high vegetable to broth ratio as I make it.

This looks really delicious. I can hardly wait to try it in this wintry winter we're having in 2011. CS