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Borscht with sauerkraut beetroot and chicken

Borscht with Sauerkraut, Beets, and Chicken

A hearty, satisfying soup course! Borscht with sauerkraut, beets, and chicken is bright, rich, and incredibly tasty! To make it heartier and the broth richer, you can use meat on the bone.

Zhemchuzhinka

Recipe author

Borscht with sauerkraut beetroot and chicken

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Chicken (any parts)

300

Sauerkraut

230

Potatoes (weight of unpeeled potatoes)

700

Onion

Carrots

Beets

150

Tomato sauce

200

Tomatoes

130

Garlic (optional)

Vegetable oil

Salt

Sugar

0.5

Fresh herbs

Bay leaf

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 19 % 4 g

Fats 29 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 52 % 11 g

118 kcal

GI: 73 / 18 / 9

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather everything you need to make borscht. This recipe used a chicken soup pack from the freezer. Rinse whatever chicken parts you're using, put them in a pot, and cover with cold water (a little over 2 liters). Once it boils, skim off the foam, add a little salt, and cook until done. Why salt only lightly? Because sauerkraut gets added to the borscht as it cooks, and there's a risk the broth could end up too salty.
Step 2:

While the broth cooks, prepare everything else. Peel all the vegetables and wash them well. Rinse the herbs, bay leaf, and peeled garlic.
Step 3:

Grate the carrots and beets on the coarse side of a grater, and cut the onion into small pieces.
Step 4:

Cut the potatoes however you like. I prefer them cut into large pieces in borscht, and I leave the very small ones whole.
Step 5:

When the chicken is done, lift it out of the broth and return the pot to high heat.
Step 6:

Add the potatoes to the broth and, once it returns to a boil, cook over medium heat until done (about 20–25 minutes). Meanwhile, prepare the sautéed vegetables and the cabbage.
Step 7:

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the grated vegetables and onion and sauté over high heat (about 2–3 minutes). Stir as you go so nothing burns.
Step 8:

Next, add the diced tomatoes to the skillet, stir, and cook for a few more seconds. This time I had store-bought tomatoes that were nearly flavorless, so I added a pinch of sugar to balance the taste.
Step 9:

Pour in the tomato sauce, lower the heat to moderate, and simmer the vegetables, covered, for about a minute.
Step 10:

Prepare the sauerkraut. Sauerkraut varies a lot: very sour or mild, soft or crisp, coarsely or finely cut, and so on. If yours is very sour, rinse it in cold water, and cut it into smaller pieces if it's long or coarse.
Step 11:

Add the cabbage to the sautéed vegetables and stir.
Step 12:

Pour in two or three ladles of hot broth from the pot with the potatoes, stir, and simmer everything together, covered, over low heat for about 7–10 minutes (this recipe used soft sauerkraut, so 7 minutes in the skillet was plenty).
Step 13:

Chop the herbs small and either press the garlic (if using) through a press or chop it by hand.
Step 14:

When the potatoes are done, raise the heat, add the sautéed vegetables with the cabbage and bay leaf to the pot, stir everything, and cook for about five more minutes.
Step 15:

At the end, taste for salt and add more if needed, stir in the herbs and garlic, let it boil for a minute, then take the pot off the heat and let the borscht rest a while. The longer it sits, the tastier and richer it gets!
Step 16:

Your delicious soup is ready! Serve it hot with fresh sour cream. You can sprinkle on some ground pepper if you like. Add pieces of the meat the broth was made from to each bowl.

This amount of ingredients makes a medium-thick borscht. If you prefer it thicker, increase the potatoes and cabbage. On fast days you can use vegetable broth and it'll still turn out delicious and filling! Enjoy!