Fermented Botwinka soup for June
A seasonal Polish soup from the kitchen garden
The kitchen garden is full of hope at this time of year. It's a huge source of comfort in these turbulent times we are going through on our little planet. This Botwinka soup has a similar, soothing effect on me. It takes me back to the Polish allotments (działki) of my childhood, where so much of our lives took place. This is a very simple version of Botwinka soup, the only work here is really just prepping the young beetroot. You need to peel them a bit and clean them well, making sure that there are no critters in the leaves that you're going to be eating. This is a process that can bring you to closer to the earth, therapeutic even, so don't rush it. That's always been my tendency (I am awaiting my ADHD diagnosis, but I know), so I make a concerted effort to take my time, to listen to something that elevates me and enjoy the process of cleaning, sorting, shredding...
Cooking it
Cooking the Botwinka soup take literally no time at all, we want the vegetables to taste fresh, so we only soften the carrots a little. Then, when the young beetroot is added to the pan, we just bring it to the boil and immediately turn everything off. We leave it to stand and cool down a little before we finish the "cooking" process that involves no further cooking. This soup should taste of June - fresh, young and full of hope.
Recipe for a Polish soup made from young beetroot leaves and stalks
Ingredients
1 bunch of young beetroot with leaves and stalks
1 litre water
3 carrots, peeled and grated
Juice of 1 lemon
3 pimento berries
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and white and black peppers
300ml young beetroot ferment
Soured cream, finely chopped spring onion and hard boiled eggs to serve
Directions
Place the grated carrots in a large pan and cover with the water. Add the pimento berries and a couple of black peppercorns, then bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10min.
Clean the young beetroot and peel the roots. Slice the roots into strips, if large enough (otherwise just quarter). Chop everything else finely, removing any damaged leaves as you go.
Add the young beetroot to the pan with the carrot and bring to the boil once more, then turn the heat down, simmer for 1-2 minutes and turn the heat off. Season with salt and white pepper. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Cover and allow to rest for about 20 minutes.
Add the fermented beetroot and the lemon juice. Taste the soup to see if you need to adjust seasoning.
Serve with a halved boiled egg and some soured cream on top.