I loooved this Polish soup as a child; however, I HATED beets. I hated the texture of grated beet so much that I use to ladle the soup trying my hardest to avoid any beets. This time, as an adult, I decided to make this soup my way.

I diced the beets instead of grating them. I ended up calling my mom about 3 times as I was making the soup. I thought this was going to be so much harder then it actually end up being. Like my mother said, it's a mix of sweet and vinegar taste you want to get and that's a personal preference.

I really loved how this turned out. Hope my friends Charlie & Paulina get to make this Polish vegetarian soup. It is quickly is becoming a winter favorite in my house. Enjoy guys.

TIP:

- You can boil more then the number of beets you need & freeze the other half.

- Leave the cream out of soup until you are ready to eat. Adding into your bowl instead of the pot.

- The more vinegar you add the more likely the cream won't mix in the soup.

- If you forget to add vinegar right after the beets & loose color, boil another beet, grate yo regain the color.

Burakowa; Polish beet soup!

4-6 servings

2 large beets, or 4 small

4-5 medium potatoes

2-3 whole spice

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 carrot (diced)

1/2 celery stalk (diced)

2-3 TBS vinegar or to taste

1/4 tsp sugar, or to taste

8 c. broth or water

1 vegetable bullion cube ( optional, if using already made broth)

half & half / vegan creamer, unflavored

Beets:

Cut any leafs & roots off the beets. Wash & take off any dirt. Submerge beets in water and boil in a pot for 30 - 45 min. depending on the size of beets. Check with a fork for softness. Once done, drain beets and set aside to cool. When beets are easy to handle, peel with potato peeler. On a vegetable grater, grate the beets on the larger side. You can also dice the beets, as I did. Set aside

Broth:

Boil water / broth. If using, put in your bullion cube. Simmer on medium to low heat bay leaves, whole spice, carrot, celery, and potatoes until potatoes are pierced easily with a fork (about 10 min).

IMPORTANT : When adding the beets, have your vinegar measured & ready. Vinegar need to be added right after the beets in order to keep the red color.

After adding the beets & vinegar, add sugar, salt pepper to taste. Simmer for another 5-10 min. Serve in a cup or bowl along with a 1 TBS of cram, half/half or vegan creamer.

I hate cooked carrots. I tend to avoid adding them to soups unless I'm making a broth. To me they loose so much flavor. Give me raw any day. That is what i thought until I started making this soup. The carrots make it such fluffy and light texture & the curry carries so much flavor. Sometimes i add cheese or croutons on top. I also think it would freeze quite well & will test this out.

Carrot and Curry soup

1 med red onion (about 2 cups)
2 pound carrots (about 6 cups diced)
2 tbs earth balance butter (I just use organic butter)
2 tbs oil (I used olive oil )
1 tbs curry powder

1 (1/2 inch) ginger, peeled & smashed (or 1/8 dried ginger)
2 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth

4 whole cloves
3 garlic cloves, chopped

Chop onion and carrots. Heat oil & butter on med/low heat. When butter melts add onions & cook until slightly soft (about 5 min). Make sure not to brown. Add carrots, ginger, garlic, cloves & curry (If you aren't familiar with curry you can put in 1/2 tbs and add more at the end). Mix well so carrots are evenly covered with oil & cook for 10 min. At this point, with a fork, check if carrots are tender. Add water or broth & cook until the carrots are soft enough to break with a wooden spoon. Take cloves out. Usually they will float on top & can be removed easily. Put in blender & pure.

Salt & peeper to taste. Makes 4 servings.