Reply #19: barszcz (Polish beet soup)

[murphymom]

My grandma used to make this. Hers was pretty simple, peeled and sliced beets cooked in broth. Mix some sour cream with a couple of spoons of cornstarch, stir some of the hot broth in to temper it, then mix it into the soup. Add sauteed sliced mushrooms and just before serving, add a few slices of hard-cooked egg to each bowl. It's got a very earthy flavor with the egg and mushrooms. Grandma's used to be a bright pink, I guess I must use less sour cream because mine comes out a rather flamboyant magenta, which might be off-putting if you're not used to eating something that color that isn't from the candy aisle.

There are all kinds of beet soup recipes out there from the various slavic countries from clear semi-fermented soups to hearty vegetable soups. Kinda like spaghetti sauce - everybody's grandma has a different recipe and simultaneously, everyone's grandma has the only real authentic version. :)