Borscht, Locally Sourced Version

Ever since I heard in cheesemaking workshop that whey is traditionally used to make borscht, I couldn't get that idea out of my head. As if all the stars aligned, last week's CSA share contains almost everything I need to make this hearty soup. Needless to say, there are as many variation on borscht as there are grandmothers in this world. This is a nice simple version that I adapted from Simply Recipe.

Yesterday I discussed how to make strained greek-style yogurt (scroll to bottom of the post). Whey is the by-product and this soup is a wonderful way not to let it go to waste. There are still plenty of nutrients in the whey and it adds a bit of tanginess to the soup. Of course you can substitute with more low sodium beef broth and adjust the seasoning accordingly. The idea of getting the last drop out of every ingredient appeals to the more frugal side of me.

Speaking of frugal, I have to mention bone-in beef shank. This is a very cheap cut but perfect for this soup. The shank pieces are used to make a beef stock. The meat is chopped to add, well, meatiness to the soup. Even the bone marrows are not wasted as they make a delicious garnish! Talk about good to the last drop!

Don't you just love the rainbow of colour?

Ingredients

• 1lb of bone-in beef shank
• 4 cups of water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 small carrot, snapped in half

• 4 large beets, peeled
• 4 medium carrots, peeled
• 3 small russet potatoes, peeled
• 2 medium turnips, peeled
• 4 cups of whey
• 2 cups of shredded purple cabbage
• 3/4 cups of fresh dill, chopped
• 3 tbsp of red wine vinegar or more to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• greek-style yogurt or sour cream

Method

1. The night before, make the a basic beef broth. In a large pot, combine beef shank, water, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, onion, and carrot. Bring to boil and turn down heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour with the lid on. Cool to room temperature and strain. Store the broth in the fridge overnight.
2. Seperate the fat and bone from the meat. Chop meat into 1.5cm cubes. Gently dislodge the marrow from the bone. Store meat and marrow in the fridge. You can discard the boiled onion and carrots or just eat them like I would do.
3. The next day, when you take the broth out of the fridge, you should see a layer of solidified fat floating on top and the broth is somewhat jelly like. Using a fork, pick out the solidified fat and discard. You now have a defatted broth.
4. Chop the beets, carrots, potatoes, and turnips into 1.5cm cubes.
5. In a large pot, add together your homemade beef broth, whey, beets, carrots, potatoes, and turnips. Bring to boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes until vegetable is tender.
6. Add in shredded cabbage, 1/2 cup of dill, and reserved meat. Cook for another 15 minutes until cabbage is soft.
7. Season with red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.
8. To serve, ladle soup into soup dishes. Top with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, sprinkle on some dill, and a piece of marrow.