Recipes for Lent: Lenten borscht

Helpful information

• To preserve the color of the borscht, do not completely cover the pan with a lid (unless it is a multicooker): leave a gap or use a lid with a hole.
• To enhance the flavor, don’t be afraid to add a little sugar to the borscht. It also partially neutralizes sourness.
• Also, to enhance the taste, use a couple of cloves of garlic at the end of cooking: crush them with a press or finely chop them.
• Add the greens immediately before removing the borscht from the heat: this way it will retain all its beneficial qualities and color.
• If you cooked a lot of vegetable broth, it doesn’t matter. It can be used to make sauce or stew vegetables on it. As a last resort, freeze and use later.
• The broth is perfect for preparing classic. You can also cook “vegetable soup” based on it.
• Always add acid to the beets to maintain the deep red color of the finished borscht.
• When preparing hot dishes, do not use acid if the vegetables are not cooked: they will remain tough and undercooked.

Have you ever cooked Lenten borscht? What ingredients did you use? Share the recipe in the comments and tell us about your impressions of our methods of preparing such a dish. Bon appetit!

How to cook lean borscht with beets and cabbage

Ingredients:

• beets (large) - 1 piece
• carrots (medium) - 1 pc.
• white cabbage - 200-300 g
• beans (I have canned) - 100 g
• onions - 1 small onion
• garlic - 2 cloves
• bay leaf - 3 pcs
• greens (any) - to taste
• spices, salt, pepper - to taste
• olive (or any vegetable oil) - to taste

Cooking steps:

Step 1.

First of all, grate the beets and carrots on a medium grater. Before this, of course, the vegetables need to be thoroughly washed and peeled.

We will sauté everything at once in a thick-bottomed pan, in which our borscht will be cooked; we will not need any additional pans. And this is another big plus of the dish. Fewer dirty dishes, more time to do the things you love.

Step 2

In a saucepan, with a small amount of vegetable oil, fry finely chopped onions until transparent. There is no need to fry it too much, otherwise the borscht will have an unpleasant taste of fried onions. I don’t like this option, so I always sauté the onion a little. As soon as the tips begin to turn golden, it means everything is ready, you can add the next ingredients.

Step 3

Place the prepared vegetables into the pan: grated carrots and beets. Mix the contents and leave to simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. We also don’t fry the vegetables too much, but only sauté or simmer a little, depending on which option you like best.

Step 4

While the vegetables are being cooked in the pan, you can do the cabbage: you need to chop it finely or grate it on a coarse grater. It is advisable that the cabbage pieces be small and this has several advantages.

Firstly, small pieces will cook faster and this is very important for mature cabbage, which takes a long time to cook. And secondly, large pieces of cabbage hanging from a spoon are not very aesthetically pleasing, and simply eating borscht with coarsely chopped cabbage is very inconvenient. Surely, many have encountered this; this often happens in public catering establishments... Therefore, we are not lazy and finely chop the white cabbage beauty.

Step 5

While we were working on the cabbage, the vegetables reached the desired state - they became a little limp. Fill them with hot water and wait for them to boil. Do not turn up the heat, cook everything over medium heat.

Step 6

When the water with vegetables has boiled, you can immediately add chopped cabbage. After boiling with cabbage, you can immediately add beans. I used canned beans, the color of the beans does not matter, you can use any.

And of course, you can cook it yourself, if time permits. I didn’t have time, and no one canceled lunch, so I used a canned jar. This is very convenient, so it is advisable to always have a couple of jars of such beans in the refrigerator.

We put the beans in the pan and now we leave our borscht to cook until the cabbage is ready. The beans are ready, the beets and carrots are also ready, all that remains is to finish cooking the cabbage. This will take about 10-15 minutes after boiling. Do not turn up the heat, cook on medium.

Step 7

About 5 minutes before it’s ready, add the bay leaf and spices that you want to use here. There can be very, very many options here. Borscht is such a dish...it has great potential for experimentation. You can put almost any spices and any of them will be appropriate here.

But if you are a fan of the classics... in that case, the simplest thing is, of course, finely chopped garlic, you certainly can’t do without it. Freshly ground black pepper, and salt, of course, we already added the bay leaf earlier.

Everything seems to be done with spices, nothing was forgotten.

Cooking red soup

Lenten borscht should be cooked in a deep saucepan. You need to pour cold filtered water into it, and then add the grated beets. After bringing the ingredients to a boil, they need to cook for exactly ¼ hour. After this, add sauerkraut and beans to the broth. In this composition, the dish must be cooked for another 22 minutes.

After the soup acquires a pleasant red color, you need to salt it, pepper it and add bay leaf. You also need to add shredded potatoes to the broth. Cook the dish on the stove for about ¼ hour, until the chopped tubers are completely soft.

Lenten borscht with cabbage and beets

And at the very end, add fresh herbs: any and more. There is no such thing as too much greenery, so add whatever you have on hand; for me it’s parsley, dill and green onions. Freshly frozen greens, any kind, are also quite suitable here. The smell of garlic combined with fresh herbs is certainly something, the aroma is such that you want to immediately, without delay, taste a plate of aromatic soup. But now the main thing is not to rush and let the dish brew for a few minutes, or at least 20-30 minutes.

Borsch needs this short respite. I don’t know what’s the matter, but standing borscht becomes much, much tastier.

Yes, you can conduct an experiment yourself by trying freshly cooked borscht and one that sits for a while under a closed lid. And this applies not only to this recipe, but in general to any borscht prepared according to any recipe. This is an interesting property of this beloved dish.

And now, if you have stood these 20-30 minutes and allowed the dish to brew, you can pour it into plates and invite your family and friends, exhausted by the aromas. Bon appetit and may you enjoy delicious food!

And if you add a spoonful of sour cream here, it’s simply incredible... I can eat this soup every day and for some reason I never get tired of it. What's the secret? Perhaps you know..., please share in the comments.

Perhaps, to some, this version of borscht will seem very simple. I won’t argue, because it’s really very quick and very simple to prepare, and this is another plus.

I think that this version of borscht will be very useful for many people in order to diversify their Lenten menu. In addition, it is very nutritious: a lot of vegetable protein (which is very important for those who are fasting) and a lot of fiber, which takes a long time to digest (which is very important for those losing weight). A great recipe for variety and to satisfy the tastes of the whole family, because everyone loves borscht.

That's all I have for today! Goodbye everyone, see you again for more delicious culinary meetings!

Be healthy and beautiful!

Author of the publication

offline 16 hours

Recipe for lean borscht with mushrooms in a slow cooker

Cooking time: 80 minutes. Yield: 6-8 servings. Equipment needed: multicooker, garlic press, knife, grater, slicing board, bowl for steaming prunes.

Ingredients

More about mushrooms

Fresh, frozen or dried mushrooms are suitable for preparing mushroom borscht.

• Do not preheat champignons and oyster mushrooms. Just wash them and cut them. There is no need to peel these mushrooms: all their parts are edible and will not change the taste of the dish. Place them raw to sauté.
• Peel, wash and boil fresh wild mushrooms for 7-10 minutes. By the way, you can use mushroom broth in further preparation of borscht. Just strain it through a slotted spoon, or even better, through 4-5 layers of gauze.
• You have already peeled the frozen mushrooms before freezing. There is no need to defrost them. Throw them into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.
• Dried mushrooms should be soaked in water at room temperature for an hour and then used according to the recipe.

Step-by-step recipe for borscht with mushrooms

1. Select the “Frying” mode, pour 1-2 tbsp into the multicooker pan. l. favorite vegetable oil and set the time on the panel for 20 minutes.
2. Chop the onion and sauté until transparent.
3. Not very finely chop 400 g of mushrooms, add to the onion, stir.
4. Thinly slice or grate 1 carrot and add to the pan.
5. Cut 1 sweet pepper into small cubes, combine with sauté and stir.
6. Grate 2 beets on a coarse grater and add to the vegetables.
7. Pour in 1 tbsp. l. 6% or 9% vinegar, sweeten with sugar (1 tsp), stir.
8. At the end of sauteing, add 2 tbsp. l. tomato and stir again.
9. Chop 200 g of cabbage and add to the pan. Cut 3 potatoes into strips and add to the vegetables.
10. Salt 1.5 tbsp. l. salt. Place 2 bay leaves. Add 3-4 peas of hot pepper.
11. Fill the prepared products with 1.5-2 liters of water (depending on the desired thickness).
12. Cover the pan with a lid and cook in the “Soup” mode for 60 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, pour boiling water over 50 g of prunes to steam.
13. After an hour of cooking, remove the bay leaf from the borscht. Squeeze 2 cloves of garlic into it through a press, stir.
14. Borscht can be poured into portioned plates. Serve it with prunes cut into strips, sour cream, and chopped herbs.

Video recipe for lean borscht with mushrooms in a slow cooker

From the short video you will learn in what order and at what intervals you need to add the ingredients.

You can also cook regular one in a slow cooker.

Lenten Ukrainian borscht with mushrooms

Pour water into the pan where you are going to cook the borscht. I have a 5 liter saucepan. For it I take about 5 potatoes, wash them, peel them, cut them into small cubes (I can’t stand it when there are large potatoes in a plate and you have to pick them and break them with a spoon). That’s why I crush it finely so that I can scoop it up along with the liquid and put it straight into my mouth.

Next, I take one medium-sized beetroot, wash it, clean it, and grate it on a coarse grater.

I do the same with one large carrot. Then I take about three onions and cut them into cubes (small).

I peel half a kilogram of fresh champignons from the film, wash them and cut them into thin slices or cubes. Whatever you prefer.

First I put the onion in a hot frying pan, when it is slightly browned, then the carrot on top, then half of the grated beetroot. I fry all this until golden brown, at the end I add 2 heaped tablespoons of tomato, fry a little more and at the end I add 2 tablespoons of flour. This is important - flour gives the borscht a certain richness and richness of taste. Still slightly browned, remove the pan from the heat.

Meanwhile, the water in your pan has boiled, you have added potatoes and half of the grated beets (the water must boil before throwing in the beets, otherwise they will turn black). We emptied the frying pan and put the mushrooms on it to fry. They fried beautifully until golden brown (I think it’s clear that you need to pour a little oil into the frying pan first? Otherwise there are all sorts of problems.)

When your mushrooms are ready, you put them in the pan, along with the fried vegetables, and see how much space you have left in the pan. Based on this, chop the cabbage. I usually chop it up a little, throw it in, see if I can add more, and then cut it. I make the borscht very thick so that the ladle practically stands up - if you don’t like it so thick, make it to your taste, but in my opinion, the borscht turns out much tastier this way.

The cabbage should be added at the very end of cooking to bring it to a boil, and after two minutes turn it off. So, we have all the ingredients in the pan, let’s start bringing the borscht to taste. Salt, add herbs (I usually chop parsley, dill and cilantro). If you don’t have fresh, dried will do. Next, I add a little ground coriander, ginger root or just Khmeli-suneli and 2 bay leaves.

Let it all simmer for a couple of minutes so that all the spices and salt are evenly distributed, I taste it, and if everything is satisfactory, I turn off the stove and leave the borscht to steep under the lid for at least half an hour. During this time, all the components will become good friends with each other, soak up each other’s juices, and our Lenten Ukrainian borscht with mushrooms will be ready for consumption!

Recipe for lean borscht in a slow cooker

• Cooking time: 145 minutes.
• We will need: a grater, a slow cooker, a garlic press, bowls.
• Number of servings: 7.

Products

Cooking steps

1. We wash and clean the vegetables.
2. Cut the onion into small cubes.
3. Grate carrots and celery.
4. Place the onion, celery and carrots in the slow cooker.
5. Finely chop the cabbage.
6. Cut the potatoes into medium cubes.
7. Place potatoes and cabbage in a slow cooker. Add water and add salt.
8. Place a steamer basket on the bowl.
9. Cut the beets into pieces and put them in a basket.
10. Close the lid and turn on the “Soup” option (60 minutes).
11. When the program ends, take out the beets.
12. Let the beets cool slightly and grate them. Place the beets in a bowl.
13. Grind the garlic in a press and add to the beets.
14. Pour lemon juice into the beets.
15. Add tomato paste and stir.
16. Place the beets in the slow cooker and stir.
17. Close the lid and turn on the “Soup” option (60 minutes).

Video recipe for borscht without meat in a slow cooker

In the next video you will see how to cook delicious lean borscht in a slow cooker.

Lenten borscht in a multicooker: borscht in a multicooker Polaris Today I have prepared for you a step-by-step recipe for lean borscht in a multicooker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j82x0XhD2-0.

I am sure that every housewife prepares this dish in her own way. And although the set of ingredients for lean borscht is almost always the same, everyone tastes it differently. In my video recipe I will show how I cook borscht in a multicooker, ever since the Polaris multicooker appeared in my house. A multicooker makes it very convenient to cook various dishes! So, if you have a question about how to cook borscht in a slow cooker, watch my video. One more thing, today I made lean borscht in a slow cooker, since I did not add meat, meat broth and vegetable oil. If you want to cook borscht in a slow cooker step by step recipe and make it more satisfying, replace the water with meat broth. Ingredients for 3 liters: cabbage 800 g, beets 200 g, carrots 110 g, celery root 120 g, potatoes 500 g, tomato paste 1.5 - 2 tbsp, lemon juice 2 tbsp, spices to taste, greens for decoration, 3 cloves garlic if desired. First, we clean all the vegetables and rinse them with water. Then cut the onion into small cubes, grate the carrots and celery. Place in the multicooker bowl. Shred the cabbage. Cut the potatoes into cubes. Place in the multicooker bowl. Pour three liters of cold boiled water over the vegetables. Add spices to taste. Place the steamer basket on the multicooker bowl and lay out the beet pieces. Cut the beets into several pieces in advance. Place the bowl in the multicooker. Close the lid and select the “soup” function in the menu; cooking time is 1 hour. After 1 hour, the multicooker will beep. Open the lid and take out the beets. Cool the beets a little. Then grate it. If desired, add finely chopped garlic and 2 tbsp to the beets. l. lemon juice. Then add tomato paste. Mix. Dressing for borscht in a multicooker step by step recipe is ready. Spread the dressing into the borscht in the slow cooker. Mix. Close the lid and cook borscht in a multicooker step by step recipe, in the same mode for another 1 hour. As you can see, the vegetables in the finished dish are not overcooked. Borscht in a slow cooker step by step recipe turned out to be very aromatic and tasty, all the vegetables retained their appearance. Pour the prepared borscht in a slow cooker into plates and serve, garnished with herbs. It’s also very tasty to serve sour cream with borscht.

Lenten borscht with champignons and celery

This borscht will both strengthen you and improve your health. Mushrooms will provide nutrition, and celery will provide a savory taste and healing properties.

Spicy borscht with champignons

After all, it is a source of many vitamins: potassium, zinc, iron, magnesium - extremely necessary during fasting.

In addition to the ingredients of traditional borscht you will need:

• 300 grams of champignons;
• 2 stalks of celery.

Preparation

1. Prepare borscht as directed in the traditional recipe. But saute the chopped celery along with the onions and carrots;
2. Add the mixture to the pan after the potatoes, cabbage and beets. Cook everything together over medium heat for 5 minutes;
3. Then add champignons cut into half rings, bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste;
4. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, let it brew and serve with chopped herbs.

Recommended reading: Lenten foods for Lent

Lenten borscht with beans and vegetables

If you are religious and regularly fast, we recommend that you take note of the recipe described below. After all, it does not include ingredients such as meat and dairy products. Moreover, lean borscht is prepared much faster than a similar dish, but using beef, pork and other ingredients.

So, to make soup without meat, we need:

• filtered cold water - about 2.5 l;
• beets - a couple of small tubers;
• red beans – ½ cup;
• large onion and carrot - 1 piece each;
• potatoes (tubers) – a couple of small pieces;
• sunflower oil without aroma - about 50 ml;
• sauerkraut - a full glass;
• salt, bay leaves and chopped allspice - use to taste.

Lenten borscht with prunes and pepper

This recipe will help in cleansing the body during fasting, because it is known that prunes regulate intestinal function.

Prunes regulate bowel function

Also, it improves well-being and has bactericidal properties.

In addition to the ingredients of traditional borscht you will need:

• 1 cup prunes;
• 1 sweet bell pepper;
• A bunch of fresh green onions.

Preparation

• Wash the prunes and cut into strips. Prepare the borscht as indicated in the traditional recipe;
• Cut the pepper into strips and saute along with the onions and carrots. As soon as you bring all the vegetables almost to readiness, put prunes in the pan and cook the borscht over low heat for another 5-7 minutes;
• Let sit and serve with chopped green onions.

Recommended reading: Menu for Lent: Lenten picnic

Cooking Lenten Borscht

Lenten borscht is a tasty and light first course. This borscht is good in the summer heat, as it can be eaten slightly warm, and during Lent it can replace meat broth.

The broth for lean borscht is cooked with beans, which sometimes have the same cooking time as meat, although it all depends on the type. To reduce the cooking time for beans for lean borscht, you can soak them overnight or for a couple of hours before cooking - this will significantly speed up the process

It is also important not to overcook the beans - they should become soft, but at the same time not “undress”, that is, not fall out of the peel (this will not greatly affect the taste, but the middle and the peel will float separately in the borscht). We also cook the beets for lean borscht for quite a long time so that the red color boils out and does not color all the vegetables.

In summer it is better to use fresh tomatoes - grate them, and in winter you can use tomato dressing or tomato paste.

You can add canned fish to lean borscht for richness and a brighter taste: sprat in tomato or gobies in tomato.

The proportions of vegetables for lean borscht may vary, but remember, this is still a first course, not a vegetable stew.

Lenten borscht recipes

The quantity of ingredients in each recipe should be considered as a guide. It is important to put everything in, and you determine the quantity yourself. You can cook thick borscht, in which a spoon stands, or you can make a light liquid dish.

Lenten borscht in the oven

The rich first course used to be prepared without first frying the vegetables. The borscht became thick and rich from long simmering, and the beets gave it a dark red hue. Back then it was not customary to fry onions and carrots and only then add them to cabbage and potatoes. Now, with a modern oven, you can prepare an equally tasty and fragrant Lenten lunch.

Ingredients:

• a quarter fork of cabbage;
• large beets;
• carrot;
• potatoes – 4 pcs.;
• garlic;
• tomato paste – 4 tbsp. spoons;
• onion head;
• sugar – 1 tbsp. spoon;
• salt, pepper and celery root;
• Bay leaf;
• a bunch of greenery.

Preparation:

1. Peel and cut the potatoes. Place it along with celery root and garlic in a large pot.
2. Next, send onion slices, carrot slices and shredded cabbage.
3. Chop the beets into strips. If the fruit is small, then take several root vegetables. Borscht loves beets. The more it is, the more saturated the color.
4. Pour boiling water over the vegetables. Add tomato paste, sugar, a little vegetable oil and salt.
5. Cover the pot with a sheet of foil, if there is no lid, and place in a preheated oven. As soon as the borscht boils, the temperature can be reduced to 170 degrees.

In a couple of hours, the lean stewed borscht will be ready. You just need to pour a large handful of fresh herbs into the pot.

Classic Lenten borscht with beans

According to the classic recipe, lean borscht is usually prepared with beans. Of course, it takes a long time to cook. But it's worth it. You will prepare a truly tasty, aromatic and colorful lunch.

Ingredients:

• white beans - a glass;
• a quarter fork of cabbage;
• potatoes – 3 pcs.;
• carrots – 2 pcs.;
• bulb onions;
• beets – 2 – 3 pcs.;
• tomato paste – 50 gr.;
• salt and spices.

Preparation:

1. Soak the beans for borscht overnight. In the morning, rinse, pour boiling water and put the pan on the fire.
2. After half an hour, add a spoonful of soda to the beans and cook for another 30 minutes. Watch the foam - soda will produce a lot of it, and you need to turn down the heat in time.
3. Rinse the soda off the beans with hot water and place in a cauldron. If necessary, cook the beans until soft.
4. Place the potatoes, bay leaf, salt in the cauldron and cook for about a quarter of an hour.
5. During this time, prepare frying onions, carrots and beets.
6. Place stewed vegetables and shredded cabbage in a cauldron with potatoes and beets.
7. Pour in vinegar, which will preserve the color of the borscht, and add sugar.
8. Cook the borscht until all the vegetables are soft. At the very end, add the grated garlic and add fresh herbs.

For such a rich first course, you can offer dried crackers of Borodino bread.

You will learn another recipe for lean borscht with beans by watching the video:

Lenten borscht with sprat in tomato

It is prepared on the days of Lent, when according to church canons you can eat fish.

For borscht you will need:

• cabbage (500 gr.);
• carrot;
• beet;
• a couple of potatoes;
• a jar of sprat in tomato;
• spices: salt, bay leaf and a lot of dill.

Preparation:

1. Place the whole onion (without the skin) in a saucepan of boiling water.
2. Fry the grated carrots and beetroot strips. Transfer the vegetables to the broth and remove the onion. She is no longer needed.
3. Place shredded cabbage and chopped potatoes into the pan. Add spices, salt and cook until done.
4. About ten minutes before removing from heat, add sprat to the borscht.
5. Give the borscht a little time to brew and you can serve it by adding dill.

Another recipe for lean borscht with sprat is in the video:

Lenten borscht with dried boletus

Dried porcini mushrooms in Lenten borscht are especially valued. They not only give lean food their unique taste - they are a complete protein, so necessary for each of us.

Ingredients:

• cabbage – 400 gr.;
• a glass and a half of dry mushrooms;
• tomatoes;
• onions, beets and carrots;
• parsley root;
• tomato paste – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• vinegar - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• salt, sugar and ground pepper.

Preparation:

1. Soak the mushrooms, rinse and stew with parsley root.
2. Prepare roasted onions, carrots and beets. Be sure to pour vinegar into the pan (to maintain color saturation) and mix everything with tomato paste and pureed tomatoes.
3. Place fried mushrooms and vegetables into boiling water, add potato wedges and cabbage. Salt and pepper everything and add bay leaf.
4. For thickness and satiety, dilute the flour with half a glass of water and add to the borscht.

The borscht will be ready in half an hour. All that remains is to add the garlic and herbs and let the dinner sit.

Another interesting recipe for lean borscht with mushrooms is in the video:

Replacement options

• You can use table or apple cider vinegar as an acid.
• For diabetics, I advise you to soak the potatoes in cold water for half an hour; you can replace them with celery root or Jerusalem artichoke.
• Freshly boiled beans will not change the taste, but the cooking time will increase: cooking will take up to an hour. Also add 8 hours of pre-soaking in cold water.
• You can replace beans with green peas (fresh young, frozen or canned).
• For diabetes, it is better to use green beans. It does not need to be boiled in advance. Cut the pods into short pieces and add them to the borscht along with the potatoes.
• A substitute for tomato paste can be tomato sauce, finely chopped or grated tomatoes without skin, and even ketchup.

Step-by-step preparation

Let's prepare the ingredients

• Peel, wash and cut 5 potatoes into medium cubes.
• Peel two carrots, three beets, and celery root and grate them on a fine grater.
• Finely chop 300 g of white cabbage with a long knife or cut into small cubes.
• Peel one fairly large onion and then cut it into thin quarters.

Let's prepare the dressing

1. Pour 30 ml of vegetable oil into a heated frying pan. Place the chopped onion in hot oil and fry until translucent and lightly browned.
2. Place grated carrots on top of the fried onion.
3. Simmer the vegetables for 2 minutes, stirring them from time to time to prevent them from burning. After the specified time, add the chopped beets and stir well.
4. Simmer the ingredients for another 3-4 minutes, and then add the celery.
5. After 2-3 minutes, add 40 g of tomato paste, 20 g of granulated sugar to the vegetable mass, and pour in about 100 ml of bottled water. Stir the vegetables thoroughly and reduce the heat to low. Fry the ingredients for 5 minutes, then set the dressing aside.

Assembling borscht

1. Pour 3-3.5 liters of bottled water into the pan and place the chopped potatoes in it. As soon as the potatoes boil, collect the resulting foam and add shredded cabbage.
2. Boil the vegetables until the potatoes are completely cooked.
3. Add the dressing to the borscht, then mix everything well and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Add 2 bay leaves, 2 pinches of ground black pepper and salt to taste to the boiling broth. Boil the borscht over medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, finely chop 2 sprigs of dill and parsley. Add the chopped herbs and cook the dish for a couple more minutes.
5. Pour the lean borscht into plates and serve.