Green Borsch – Spinach Potato Soup (Зелёный Борщ)

Many people call this soup Green Borsch. We grew up calling it Shchavel, which is translated as sorrel. It is a green leafy vegetable, that looks and tastes very much like spinach, except it has a pleasant tart flavor. I definitely prefer to use sorrel in this soup, which my parents have in abundance in their garden. However, sorrel doesn’t seem to be as popular here in America as it is in the Soviet countries, which is a shame. I almost never see it in grocery stores, so I use spinach and sigh as I squeeze in some lemon juice. It still tastes great, so I can’t complain. Someday, when I have a garden of my own, I’ll be planting sorrel for sure!

This soup is simple and delicious, reminiscent of uncomplicated Russian peasant food. It has withstood the test of time, and is enjoyed to this very day. I usually make this soup with a chicken broth base, add some potatoes, carrots and onions, and it cooks up in no time. Add the spinach or sorrel last minute and garnish with some chopped hard boiled eggs and a dollop of sour cream.

Start by pouring the chicken broth into a pot.

If you don’t have any broth handy and want to start from scratch, place a few chicken wings or drumsticks into a pot of water, add a small quartered onion, a few cloves of garlic, a dry bay leaf and some black peppercorns, season with salt to taste and cook for about 40 minutes.  Strain the broth through a sieve lined with a paper towel or a cheesecloth. Save the meat from the wings or drumstick. (Of course, you can use any other meat from a chicken).Collage (650x255)

You can also make this soup vegetarian, by substituting vegetable broth.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2-3 potatoes, peeled
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 1 onion
• 4 cups (packed tightly) chopped spinach or sorrel
• 2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice (only if you're using spinach)
• 4-5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
• sour cream, to garnish

Instructions

Start by pouring the broth into a pot.
If you don't have any broth handy and want to start from scratch, place a few chicken wings or drumsticks into a pot of water, add a small quartered onion, a few cloves of garlic, a dry bay leaf and some black peppercorns, season with salt to taste and cook for about 40 minutes. Strain the broth through a sieve lined with a paper towel or a cheesecloth. Save the meat from the wings or drumstick. (Of course, you can use any other meat from a chicken).You can also make this soup vegetarian, by substituting vegetable broth.
Bring the broth to a boil. Dice the potatoes, chop the carrots and finely mince the onion.
Add to the broth and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the soup until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the spinach or sorrel.
Add to the soup when the vegetables are cooked through. Squeeze in the lemon juice. You will only need to cook the spinach for a minute or two.
Add the cooked chicken to the soup at this point.
Garnish the soup with chopped hard boiled eggs and a dollop of sour cream.

Source:

http://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/soups/green-borsch-spinach-potato-soup/