Traditional Polish beet greens soup - my recipe for you to try (veg and non-veg variants)

Of all the soups I have ever done, or eaten, beet greens soup ("botwinka" in Polish) is my spring/summer favorite. For me, this soup is the essence of summer and spring, and its sweet and sour taste lifts the spirit. I Often make it during this time of the year, so now I want to share my recipe with you. I hope that at least some of you will try it.

What is beet greens soup?

Beet greens soup is perceived as one of Poland's national soups. It is made in the spring and summer, when young beets are sold in almost each store.

Young beet was valued as early as Aristotle in the 4th century BC. They were used in ancient times as a medicinal plant. In modern times, their consumption was recommended for women, on whom its effects were believed to be particularly beneficial.

Although with many vegetables the leaves are often considered a waste, it is actually with beet that they are most valuable. When you buy a bunch of young beets, there will be only a few small roots in it, and the rest will just consist of leaves. Above all, the beet root contains a powerful dose of betanin, which is a powerful antioxidant. The leaves are rich in a variety of other antioxidants that protect the nervous system, but also regulate blood sugar levels. The leaves are very rich in minerals. This soup also contains a fair amount of vitamin C.

If you're vegan, or vegetarian, you'll use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and you won't add cream. You can use 1 tablespoon of wheat flour instead of this, or you just don't use anything.

What do you need?

The given amounts of ingredients are enough to prepare soup for two people.

In order to prepare this soup, you primarily need young beets. Two or three bunches of them are enough. If they're small, use 3 bunches.

The next ingredient is young veggies. It is much more flavorful, and sweet, than the mature veggies. The bunch of young soup vegetables include young carrots, young parsley roots, young celeriac (it's also called celery root - it's not the same plant as celery which leaves u use to make salads etc. Celeriac is a plant closely related to carrots, parsley etc.). For this soup you need only the roots, no leaves are added to it.

Of all the young vegetables, the most important are carrots. Use four medium-sized carrots. You can optionally omit the young celeriac and parsley if they're not sold in bunches together with young carrots in your area. Young parsley roots are very small, and so are young celeriac, so when they are lacking in your soup, it almost doesn't influence its final taste at all. Many people in Poland omit them, so don't worry. :) Your beet greens soup will still be original then.

A young bundle of dill is also a necessary ingredient in green beets soup, as well as new potatoes. You don't need a lot of potatoes. I used only two very large ones.

To make the soup sweet and sour, sugar and lemon juice are used. Some people also add spirit vinegar. If you do not have access to it, you can use another type of vinegar - for example, apple cider vinegar. I usually add both lemon juice and vinegar to the soup, because according to me, as well as according to many other Poles, these two ingredients complement each other perfectly. Both are sour, but they have a different character, and when both are added, the flavor becomes deeper, more pronounced, than when only lemon juice is added. If lime juice is easier to get in your geographic region, just use it instead of lemon juice.

For this soup I used

• 3 tablespoons of sugar - I usually add brown sugar;
• 200ml of lemon juice - I didn't squeeze it, but bought the juice in a bottle at the store. You may get bottles of smaller capacity, such as 125ml or 150ml, at a store near you. It won't make much difference - then you just use a little more vinegar;
• 3 tablespoons of vinegar.

The last ingredient you need are two tablespoons of cream to add it to the soup at the very end.

If you're not vegan, you'll use chicken broth for this recipe. You can also make broth of beef. In fact, for broth to use in this soup you need to use only meat and water, because vegetables will be prepared in a separate pot. Just place some meat (I usually use about 250-300g of chicken drumsticks or wings) in about 1,5l of water. Boil them on a small flame and don't forget to clarify the broth, which means that you should collect ant throw out the foam, which will start to gather on its surface, with a skimmer, or with a tablespoon. 45 minutes of boiling the meat is enough.

Vegetable broth - for veg variant

If you're vegan, or vegetarian, you'll need to prepare some vegetable broth for this recipe. It;'s easy. You just need:

• 2l of water;
• 3 small carrots;
• 1 small onion
• 1 small- or medium-sized root of parsley root;
• some piece of celeriac, not too big - let's say its size should be like a size of small, young apple, or a lime;
• parsley leaves - you may omit this if you don't buy it as a part of a bunch, but it's better to use it;
• a piece of leek - use 8-12 cm;
• 1-2 cloves of garlic - you can skip this if you don't like using garlic;
• some celery - it's optional - I usually don't use it, but some people can't imagine vegetable broth without it;
• 2-3 bay leaves;
• few dried berries of allspice;
• some black pepper;
• 1 tablespoon of salt;

Wash the vegetables, peel them, cut into pieces, and place them in 2l of water, together with spices and salt. Cover the pot with a lid and set it over high heat so that the water started to boil fast. Then, make the flame smaller. Boil the broth for about 2 hours.

When the broth is ready, take out the vegetables and strain it, so that only clear liquid remains. You can use the vegetables to make a salad, vegan chops, or as an ingredient for other dishes.

To sum it all up, you need:

• about 1,5l of chicken, or vegetable, broth;
• 2 tablespoons of some frying oil, or ghee (clarified butter);
• 250-300g of chicken drumstick or wings, or you can use beef, but it's much more expensive nowadays;
• 2-3 bunches of young beets (you'll use both leaves and roots);
• 4 medium-sized young carrots (and optionally some young parsley and celery root, if you buy carrots as a part of a bunch of soup vegetables);
• 1 bunch of dill leaves;
• some young potatoes;
• 125-200ml of lemon juice or lime juice;
• 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar;
• 2 tablespoons of cream - if you're a vegan/vegetarian, skip this and use 1 tablespoon of rye or wheat flour, or just don't use any of this;
• 3 tablespoons of sugar, but some people like to use more of it;
• some black pepper for taste;
• some salt (I add 1 tablespoon, but it may be too much for you);

The whole procedure

Start to make vegetable or a chicken broth. You can make it earlier, before you begin to start making the rest of beet greens soup.

Peel the potatoes and carrots (and young celeriac together with young parsley root if you want to use it) and cut them into small pieces.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil (or ghee) in a pot - the best pot for this recipe should be 4 liters.

Put the vegetables in the oil and fry on low heat. Stir them and be careful - don't burn them, and don't make them crispy, too. They should just become softer.

Meanwhile, chop the leaves of the young beets, and peel the beet roots, slicing them as well.

Chop a bunch of dill as well. When you're done, add the beets and dill to the pot with the carrots and potatoes. Pour broth over it all.

Add lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.

Cook the soup for 20-30 minutes on low heat.

Finally, add cream to the soup, but do not add it directly, as it will curdle. Pour the soup into a cup (mine is 250-300ml), add a tablespoon of cream to it, stir. Add the second tablespoon of cream and stir again. When you get a uniform liquid, pour it into the pot and stir the soup.

If you do not use cream because you are vegetarian or vegan, add a tablespoon of rye or wheat flour to the soup cup. Add the flour a little at a time, stirring the soup so that no lumps of flour form in the cup. When the liquid is uniform, without lumps, pour it into the pot and stir.

Your soup is ready! I hope you will enjoy it as much as it tastes good to me.