Barszcz – Polish beetroot soup

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 1 pack of soup vegetables
• 300 g bacon
• 3 large beetroots
• 1 handful of mushrooms, dried
• Parsley, flat
• dill
• 2 cloves garlic
• bay leaves
• Juniper berry(s)
• allspice berries
• salt and pepper
• Honey
• herbal vinegar
• Sour cream, optional

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours 25 minutes

Roughly chop the soup vegetables. Roughly chop the bacon. Chop the parsley and dill. Peel and finely dice the garlic. Crush the mushrooms in your hand. Place the soup vegetables, bacon, bay leaves, juniper berries, allspice, 4 teaspoons of honey, and a pinch of salt in a pot and cover with water. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, topping up the water occasionally. Then strain through a sieve, collecting the liquid, and return it to a pot. Peel the beetroot, coarsely grate it, and add it to the pot, along with the garlic. Simmer for 15 minutes. The beetroot should still be firm to the bite and not completely soft. Finally, either strain the soup again or not (I prefer Barszcz with garnish). Dice the bacon and return it to the soup. Add the dill, parsley, pepper, and vinegar. As for the vinegar, everyone should season it to their own taste; I prefer it a bit more sour.