Recipe of the week: beet borscht

Borscht is a beloved dish in many countries in eastern Europe, says Cristian Broglia. The distinguishing feature of a Ukrainian borscht is red beets, which give the soup its characteristic flavour and beautiful burgundy colour.

Serves four people

Ingredients

• 455g beef strip steak (sirloin), cut into 5cm chunks
• 5 black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion, chopped
• 300g red beets, peeled and diced
• 1 white turnip, diced
• 200g diced peeled celeriac
• 200g sliced cabbage
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• sea salt
• 1 tbsp tomato purée, dissolved in a little warm water

to serve: 

• 4 tbsp Greek yogurt
• ½ tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Method

• In a soup pot, combine the beef, peppercorns, bay leaves, and 950ml of cold water. Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook until reduced by one-third, about 45mins.
• Discard the bay leaves. Add the onion, beets, turnip, celeriac, cabbage, carrots, sugar, vinegar, and salt to taste. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 30mins.
• Remove the meat chunks and divide them among soup bowls. Stir the tomato purée mixture into the soup and simmer for 5mins over high heat.
• Pour the vegetables and broth over the meat. Top each serving with a tablespoon of yoghurt and some chopped parsley.
• Tip: if the beets come with greens, remove them and rinse well. Cut into shreds and add to the soup, then boil until tender for 3mins.

Taken from The Gluten-Free Cookbook by Cristian Broglia, published by Phaidon at £35. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £27.99, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.