And no, I didn’t become a vegetarian, but with so many friends in Bali who don’t eat, sometimes you have to make sacrifices and cook borscht :) The borscht according to this recipe turns out delicious and so real that you won’t be able to dig into anything. And the lack of meat doesn’t spoil it at all.

Instead of meat, it adds richness to vegetarian borscht, the main thing is to prepare it in a special way. By the way, if you are not a fan of beans, then I will tell you what you need to do with beans so that you don’t feel them at all and don’t even find them in the borscht.

By the way, before delving into the recipe for this vegetarian borscht, I’ll reveal a couple of secrets, on which, in my opinion, the deliciousness of borscht depends:

In borscht, as in any soup, the main thing is to fry the vegetables for seasoning. Many people throw vegetables straight into water and boil them, which is why soups always have such an unpleasant, unsaturated soup.
Frying should be done in a good amount of oil and always on high heat so that the vegetables have a golden brown crust and the vegetables do not turn into a rag.
The dressing and water need to be salted and tasted; if you don’t add enough salt, it won’t turn out right.
It is important to add everything to the borscht in a certain order, and chop all the vegetables finely; large leaves of cabbage or huge pieces of onion spoil the whole borscht
It’s better not to use store-bought tomato paste, but to make it yourself (it’s easy!), then the borscht will not have a sour taste and you won’t need to add sugar
Garlic and coarsely ground pepper are a must in borscht; they add to the richness of the taste and will not be felt at all later
Borscht is difficult because you need to constantly manipulate the power of the fire on the stove; At most stages, the borscht should not boil, but just slowly and barely bubble. But that comes with experience (or talent:)

I will specify the remaining details in the recipe.

(By the way, if you are more friendly with meat than with beans, then meat borscht is prepared according to a similar recipe, just instead of beans you take a good beef bone. But it’s better to cook it for three hours, the borscht will be richer there. And everything is the same, well, besides the fact that you don’t have to put the bone in the blender :))

Recipe for delicious borscht without meat:

Ingredients:

Cooking method step by step:

The beans must be soaked in advance (preferably overnight) so that they cook faster.

We make a preparation for tomato paste (you can skip this step if you buy store-bought): Cut the tomatoes, each into 4 slices, put them in any heat-resistant container, sprinkle a little oil, salt, and put them in the oven to bake. I set it to 200 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Now chop all the vegetables. Grate the onion into small cubes, carrots and beets on a coarse grater (or on a grater for fine strips). We cut the potatoes into small cubes, and finely chop the cabbage. Small is the key word here :)
Crush the garlic or grate it on a fine grater. We leave all this in separate bowls.

Making a dressing for borscht. In a frying pan over fairly high heat and with plenty of oil, lightly fry the onions and carrots. Fry all this until golden brown. Then add beets. Don't forget to stir everything so it doesn't burn.

We take our tomatoes out of the oven and put them in a blender. Here is our tomato paste for borscht and it’s ready.

Add tomato paste to the dressing. Salt and pepper. Let's try. It should be a little salty. Simmer lightly for about five minutes.

When the beans are ready (we taste them, they should be very soft), take out half the beans and puree them in a blender. The remaining beans remain in the pan in the water; there is no need to put them anywhere. By the way, if you don’t like beans floating in borscht, then puree all the beans and leave the water in the pan for now. It will be the basis for borscht.

Now throw the potatoes into the pan with the remaining water and beans and let it boil. Turn the heat to medium and cook for five minutes. If the potatoes were cut correctly, that is, finely, they will cook quickly.

We send the contents of the frying pan with the dressing into the pan, add the bean puree from the blender, as well as the cabbage. Let it boil again and turn the heat to low. All this should simmer lightly (but not boil, otherwise goodbye borscht :) for about ten minutes. Taste, add pepper, chili, salt.

Turn off the fire. Then add grated garlic and chopped cilantro (or any other greens you like) to the pan. Add all this only after the fire is turned off. Close the lid and leave to infuse.

The most important stage. The borscht should sit under the lid for about twenty minutes. This is where all the borscht magic happens and it becomes rich and so tasty that you can eat a spoonful.

Photos taken from flickr.com from the authors alina-photography and anjelagr

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There is an opinion that the word “borscht” comes from the Old Russian “burshch” (beets). But there is also another opinion that the word comes from the words “brown” and “cabbage soup.”

Although there is also an opinion that the word and the dish itself appeared before beets began to be added to it. And instead of beets, hogweed was added, but not the poisonous one that causes severe burns, and which is strictly prohibited to be eaten. And this is another plant with the same name, with edible leaves, from which a stew with a similar name was prepared.

True, the story goes that the dish turned out almost black in color (maybe that’s where the “brown” comes from). Which apparently did not suit those who ate this stew at all. And then a replacement for this plant was found in the form of beets, and borscht already appeared in Russian and Ukrainian national cuisine in the form in which we use it now.

In one of the recipes I already gave a detailed description of how to cook. But the fact is that now there are more and more people who do not eat meat, these are vegetarians. And my beloved youngest son is also like that.

Plus it’s Lent! And this is exactly the dish that can be prepared so tasty that you don’t need any meat.

So, my mother taught him to cook, and her mother taught her to cook... My mother had to go through difficult times. She says that the best treat for them in childhood was a sandwich with... hot mashed potatoes! And she herself made such sandwiches for her brothers.

And when such borscht was prepared, everyone was full and, of course, happy. So my mother’s knowledge was very useful to me. Now I am preparing this delicious meatless dish for my son. And now I’m always happy, because I know for sure that with such a lunch my son won’t go hungry.

Delicious borscht without meat (lean)

We will need for 3-4 servings:

cabbage - 200 gr
carrots - 1 pc.
potatoes - 2 pcs.
beets - 1 piece medium
onion - 1 pc.
tomato - 1 pc. or tomato paste
lemon - 1/3 part
flour - 2/3 teaspoon
sugar - 0.5 teaspoon
garlic - 1 clove
salt, ground black pepper - to taste
spices - to taste
dried herbs - to taste
bay leaf - 1 pc.
vegetable oil - 3-4 tbsp. spoons
butter - 1-2 tbsp. spoons
fresh dill, parsley, green onions, garlic - for sprinkling
sour cream - for serving

Preparation:

1. Let’s prepare all the vegetables in advance so that you don’t get distracted later and focus only on the cooking process. Cut the onion into thin half rings or small cubes.

2. Cut the cabbage, preferably thinner.

3. Grate the carrots using a Korean carrot grater.

4. Chop the garlic.

5. Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes.

6. Peel the beets and grate them on a Korean carrot grater. Sprinkle it with lemon juice, squeezing it directly from the lemon. Stir and leave to marinate a little.

7. If you are using a fresh tomato, scald it with boiling water and remove the skin. Cut into cubes. Or make tomato paste. Today I'm cooking with . Now it’s early spring and fresh tomatoes are sold mostly not quite ripe; they will not give the desired color to the borscht.

8. Prepare spices, dried herbs, sugar, flour. Boil water in a kettle in advance, we will need boiling water.

9. Heat the oil in a frying pan or thick-walled saucepan and fry the onion until golden brown.

10. Pour half a glass of hot water, and stirring occasionally, wait until the water evaporates and the onion becomes transparent. Subsequently, when the onion is cooked with cabbage, it will not be visible at all.

11. Add carrots, fry together with onions for 3-4 minutes. The carrots should soften a little.

12. Add sugar, spices and flour. Fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.

13. Add chopped tomatoes or tomato paste. I have homemade pasta, I add 2 tablespoons. Store-bought paste is more concentrated; you only need to add less than a tablespoon. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Fry the tomatoes a little longer. Until they become soft.

14. Add boiling water to cover the entire mass, simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes.

15. Pour hot water. Add chopped cabbage. I always add water by eye. If you like thick borscht, then you need to add less water. And of course, if you like it thinner, add more water. Keep in mind that you will be adding more potatoes and beets. We won't add any more water. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate its quantity at this stage.

16. Cook for 10-15 minutes, provided that the cabbage is autumn. If you cook borscht from young cabbage, then immediately add potatoes along with the cabbage.

17. Today my cabbage is old, the new one hasn’t grown yet. Therefore, we cook it for 10-15 minutes, and only then add the potatoes. Salt. Cook for another 10 minutes. Make sure the water doesn't boil. The borscht should not boil too much, as this will make it cloudy.

18. Add dried herbs - parsley, dill. Cook for another 5 minutes.

19. Add grated beets and garlic to the borscht. Then pepper and add bay leaf. Let it boil and cook over low heat for another 7-10 minutes.

20. Add butter, let it boil and turn off.

21. Cover with a lid and let the borscht steep for 10-15 minutes. During this time, set the table. Take out the sour cream, chop fresh dill, parsley, green onions, garlic if desired.

22. Pour into plates, sprinkle with herbs and garlic, add sour cream to taste.

The nuances of cooking borscht without meat

During cooking, make sure that the water does not boil too much. Borscht should simmer rather than boil. In this case, the broth will be clear and not cloudy.
When in season, be sure to add sweet bell peppers. Today I cooked without pepper, so I added the necessary sweetness in the form of sugar. It turns out so tasty because it contains all the known tastes - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, tart. But bell peppers provide not only sweetness, but also an incredible aroma.
Often beets are fried together with carrots. I don’t fry it, I put it in fresh 10 minutes before it’s ready, I think it tastes better that way. If you want, you can fry it. You need to fry it immediately after the carrots, before the tomatoes or tomato. And then everything follows the recipe.
During cooking, try not to add any water. The quantity should be calculated in advance; the borscht should not turn out too thick or too liquid.
Don't be afraid to add spices, they give the necessary aroma, and I believe they also give a certain taste.
The amount of vegetable oil is approximate. If you like fattier, richer foods, you can add more oil. The same goes for butter.

Here's the recipe! Mom and grandmother always said that in order to cook delicious borscht, you need to walk around it. So it is, while we are cooking, there will be no time to sit down. Firstly, you need to add vegetables on time. Secondly, you need to make sure that after each new addition, the water boils quickly, for this you need to turn up the heat. And immediately, as soon as it boils, you need to turn down the fire and make sure that the water does not boil.

In general, after walking around the borscht for 30-40 minutes, it turned out delicious - delicious! And no meat is needed!

Bon appetit!

Yesterday I made borscht without meat. One of my very good friends is in the hospital and asked me to bring her red borscht. My friend really wanted delicious, rich homemade borscht. And since the doctor advised her to limit some foods due to high cholesterol levels (these are foods containing animal fats, refined oils, meat broths, including fried and smoked meat), she had to prepare borscht without meat and without frying.

This borscht is prepared much easier and faster than with meat broth. And the result is amazing: bright, aromatic, tasty borscht and even richer and thicker from the presence of lentils than classic borscht with meat. And here is the recipe.

Borsch without meat recipe

By the way, if you still prefer borscht with meat, then it will be prepared using a similar technology, only, instead of lentils, you will need a good piece of meat or a good beef bone. And, if you want to have a richer borscht, then you should cook the bone for at least three hours.

Ingredients:

300gr.
beets 350 gr.
carrots 150g.
onions 2 pcs.
prunes 100 gr.
cabbage 200 gr.
fresh tomatoes 3pcs or 250g. tomato puree
garlic 4 cloves
salt to taste
seasoning to taste

Technology for preparing lean borscht

We will cook borscht according to this recipe without meat and without frying.

Peel the beets and cut into strips. Place in a saucepan (you can take a deep cast-iron frying pan), add water so that the water lightly covers the beets. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat until done.
Peel and cut the carrots into strips, cut the onions into half rings. Finely chop the cabbage. It is very convenient to use for thinly shredding cabbage.
Rinse the lentils under cold running water. Pour water into the pan where the borscht will be cooked, put the lentils there and cook; when the water boils, reduce the heat and continue cooking the lentils over low heat.
After 10 minutes of cooking the lentils from the moment of boiling, add cabbage to the pan. When the cabbage has softened slightly, add the prepared carrots, onions (without pre-frying) and prunes. We definitely add prunes; they will enrich the taste of the borscht and add a smoky aroma to our dish.
Remove the skin from the tomatoes, chop with a knife and add to the borscht. You can use tomato paste.
We load the beets last, since the beets are already ready. To preserve the bright color of borscht, it is best to add beets after adding acid (in our case, tomatoes).
Next, cook on low heat for a few more minutes. At the end of cooking, you can adjust the borscht for salt, acidity and sweetness. If desired, you can also add crushed garlic to the borscht at the end of cooking.

Our delicious meat-free borscht is ready! Let the finished borscht sit for a while before serving. The next day it will be even more delicious and rich.

Prepare all the necessary products.

Shred the cabbage so that you can feel it in the borscht - into fine crumbs. Cut into slices, these slices can be cut into squares.

To make four plates of borscht, take at least a three-liter pan. Boil shredded cabbage in 3 liters of water. But the pan can be larger, then increase the ingredients proportionally.

Meanwhile, clean and grate the vegetables for frying in a frying pan. Chop the onion not coarsely or finely. The onion can be large or medium, or two small onions.

Grate the carrots. It is best if the quantity of carrots is the same as onions.

The next step is to grate the beets, which must be sweet and juicy. But if your beets are not like that, then the borscht will still turn out tasty if you fry the vegetables a little more in a frying pan. The size of the beets can be medium, although two small ones will also more than replace it.

Heat enough sunflower oil in a frying pan. And now we put these vegetables in a frying pan so that they simmer and over time begin to fry, changing their main color. The carrots will absorb the oil.

While the vegetables are frying, do not forget that after the cabbage boils, you need to throw in the potatoes. To do this, we clean it and cut it into medium pieces. The shape of the potato can be whatever your family loves (cubes, slices, cubes).

When the potatoes and cabbage are in the same pan, you should add salt. This is necessary for better taste. But if your family uses little salt, then you can add salt after the dish is ready. Although sometimes you can experiment and add salt not to the water, but to the frying. If the borscht has been over-salted, then peeled whole potatoes can correct the situation; they will take on all the salt when they boil in the borscht.

At the same time, finely chop the garlic and add it to the roast. Don't forget to stir the vegetables in the pan. You can fry them over medium heat. Garlic will add flavor to the dish. Add the tomato there, stirring the vegetables. The tastier the frying, the tastier the borscht will be, so watch how it is fried: it should not burn, but nevertheless the vegetables should reduce by one and a half times in the pan.

Calories: 857
Proteins/100g: 0.54
Carbohydrates/100g: 3

Borscht cooked without meat in vegetable broth or water is in no way inferior in taste to rich borscht with meat. You can cook it from a standard set of vegetables - potatoes, cabbage, beets, onions and carrots, or with the addition of beans, or. Red borscht without meat is prepared very lightly, without frying the vegetables, but adding them raw (such soups, by the way, are much healthier and easier on the stomach) or with fried vegetables. During Lent, the recipe for red borscht without meat can be implemented at least every day; it is very tasty, satisfying, and you won’t get tired of it, especially if you cook it in different variations, adding new ingredients.

We offer you a simple recipe for borscht without meat, and based on it you can come up with your own signature recipe.

Ingredients:

Beets – 1 piece;
- carrots – 1-2 pcs;
- potatoes - 4-5 tubers;
- onions – 2 pcs;
- white cabbage - half a small head of cabbage;
- fresh tomatoes – 2-3 pcs;
- vegetable oil – 3 tbsp. l;
- bay leaf – 2 leaves;
- salt, pepper - to taste;
- fresh parsley - 1 bunch.

How to cook at home

Whether you fry vegetables or add raw vegetables to lean red borscht is up to you. Depending on the option chosen, cutting beets, carrots and onions can be larger or smaller. To fry, carrots can be cut into cubes or grated on a coarse grater. If you add raw carrots, then the cutting is generally not important.

Cut the onions for frying into cubes or half rings. If you don’t fry it, it’s better to chop the raw onion for borscht without meat into smaller pieces.

Cut the potatoes into strips or cubes.

We chop the cabbage, but not very thinly, so that it does not overcook in the borscht.

Cut the beets into cubes for frying. Raw beets can be grated into borscht on a coarse grater or cut into thin strips.

Heat up 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil. First, sauté the onions and carrots in oil, but do not fry them, just let them soak in the oil.

Add potatoes. Turn the heat to low and leave the potatoes to simmer for 3-5 minutes. During this time, it will absorb the oil, but there is no need to fry the potatoes.

Bring water or vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Transfer the contents of the pan and let it boil again. Salt to taste. Cook the vegetables at a gentle simmer until the potatoes are ready.

In another frying pan, heat a spoonful of oil and add the beets. Heat it up, cover it with a lid and simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes until half cooked. Then add fresh tomatoes, cut into pieces, to the beets. Simmer for another 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.

Add beets and tomatoes to our red meatless borscht. Adjust the heat so that the borscht simmers quietly and cook until the beets are soft (the beets can be left a bit firm - as you like).

Add shredded cabbage, bay leaf and season with ground black pepper to the borscht. Cook until the cabbage is ready. Here, too, be guided by your taste - some people like crispy cabbage in borscht, while others prefer well-cooked cabbage.

Season the finished borscht with finely chopped herbs and crushed garlic, let it brew for 10-15 minutes under the lid. We pour the hot borscht into plates and invite everyone to the table. For lean borscht without meat, you can offer green onions, garlic, and if possible, sour cream (of course, sour cream is excluded during Lent) and fresh homemade bread or