My Mum and I decided to have a movie night: Doctor Zhivago and dinner. I immediately thought of borscht, and that we needed a Russian-inspired dinner. Instead of authentic Russian food, I used Russian flavours to make a meal of our own.
Golden beets. So pretty, I love the colour — and they’re great on flavour too, which is of course the point of it all.
As Mark Bittman says in his headnotes for this recipe, it may not be traditional, but it sure is delicious. In traditional borscht, the beets are usually not roasted, but their flavour after roasting is wonderful. And soup is always a good excuse to get a few more greens in.
Roasted Golden Beet Borscht with Collard Greens
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Roasted Beet Borscht in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
- 3 pounds golden beets (about 5 large beets), peeled and quartered
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 bunch of fresh dill, separate stems and chop the rest
- about 6 cups water
- 2 big handfuls of collard greens, shredded
- 1/2 a lemon, juiced
- fat-free yogurt (optional)
Preheat oven to 375F.
In a roasting dish, drizzle beets with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast at 375F for 30-40 minutes, until tender.
In a saucepan over medium heat, saute onion in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil until golden and softened, about 10 minutes.
Add roasted beets and dill stems to onions. Cover with water, turn the heat up to high, and bring soup to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium-low and let simmer, covered, for ten minutes.
Remove the dill stems from the soup, and add the lemon juice. Blitz with an immersion blender until smooth.
Add collard greens, and simmer for five minutes more.
Serve, garnished with a scoop of yogurt and sprinkled with the chopped dill.
Kitchen Operas 
What a great idea, roasting the beetroot first. It does improve the flavour, adding a real sweetness to it. And those golden beets sure do look pretty.
Thanks for the idea I am crazy about beets especially the lebanese way in salad with tahini sauce! I will be trying this soup real soon!
Mmmmm, do you have a recipe for the beets in salad with tahini? I bet I could improvise, it sounds to-die-for!!!!!
Hi Lindsay, Thanks for the post on my blog by the way! This looks really good—I’ve never seen yellow beets before. I love finding vegetables in “non-standard” colors. Where did you get them? Also never tried borscht but I think I might just have to now as that looks color-licious 😛
@Vanessa – I just got the golden beets at my local greengrocer. They seem to be easy to find around here (Toronto, Canada). Maybe we grow them?
This looks great! I’m making it today.