Squash and mix veggie borsch

 

It's squash season, and I had some leftover cabbage, a small Desi squash, half bell peppers, carrots'n stuff that needed to be put to good use. 1 hour later this goodie was born, and I had to think what name should I give. Let's call it Petőfi soup after a Hungarian poet who's poem is titled "What should I call you?" 😁

I love julienned veggies (aka uniform matchstick shaped veggies) in a soup, so I actually took the time to julienne everything that went into the soup, but the kale.

I will put down a list of ingredients that I used, but this soup is really about watcha' you find in the fridge blended into some heavenly goodness of a soup.

I also went for enriching it with cooked spelt that I cooked separately in my Instant Pot, but needless to say you don't need the spelt added, neither the Insta to cook it, it just requires a bit more prep if you don't have a pressure cooker as spelt cooks really slowly (cook it per instruction from the package).

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

2 cups shredded cabbage (~300g or 10 ounces what I used, just because that's how much I had leftover from the tacos we made two night prior)

1 small squash, I used Desi squash as it just grew by itself in my garden, and I love it's concistency

2 larger carrots

1 small onion, it was about 1/4 cup chopped

1 bell pepper

1 large tomato

3-4 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth

1 tbsp dried lovage  (I wish I had fresh), if not available just use parsley, dry or fresh

1 lemon or 1/4 cup vinegar (We prefer the food on the sour side, add both gradually until you learn how you like it)

5-6 palm sized kale leaves, chopped into finger sized slices 

oil for sauteing the veggies

paprika powder

salt and pepper to taste

sour cream for serving

Optional: I always have some mild on spicy salsa in the fridge, and to enrich the taste I added 2 tbsp of salsa to the borsch

Cook the spelt according to the instruction before. Again, you can completely omit the cooked spelt, the soup is delicious without. I was just looking to add some extra texture to the softish veggies, and the crunchiness of the cooked spelt sounded like a good option.

Prepare all veggies.

Chop really finely the onions, chop the tomato, julienne the carrot, squash, and cabbage.

In a larger pot heat up some oil, enough to generously cover the bottom. Add the chopped / julienned onion, cabbage, bell pepper and carrots, and saute them on high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. They should soften, get a nice glossy color. It will give some extra richness to the soup, and will significantly shorten the cooking time.

After about 3-5 minutes add the paprika powder, stir in well, and immediately add the stock and water, (all together should be 6 cups). I added 3 cups stock + 3 cups water. Add the tbsp of lovage/parsley (or a small bunch of either), 1 tsp salt, 1/3 tsp black pepper (or less / more if you like), and the chopped tomato. I also added the 2 tbsp salsa.

Cover with a lid and cook / simmer for 10 - 12 minutes, until the cabbage and carrot is softer, almost ready, but still has a little crunch to it. Add 3 more cups of water, bring to boil, and add the squash to the soup. Adjust the saltiness. I needed to add 1 more tsp of salt, and at the end I still had to adjust the saltiness by adding more salt. Remember tho', you can always add salt, but can't take it away, so add it gradually and taste in between. 

Cook for an additional 5 minutes. The julienned squash cooks really fast, don't add it at the beginning or you'll get a not so appetizing mush.

Meanwhile slice the kale. Add water if necessary and bring it to a quick boil if water was added. 

Remove the soup from the stove and add the kale, 1 cup of cooked spelt, and squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon.

Serve with sour cream, extra lemon slices, and some fresh chili pepper on the side.

Bon appetit!