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1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Slice the top off the garlic bulb to expose the cloves, drizzle with half the olive oil, wrap tightly in foil, and roast for 40–45 minutes until the cloves are deeply golden and completely soft. Allow to cool slightly, then squeeze all the roasted garlic paste out of the skins and set aside.
1 piece Garlic bulb,
1 tbsp Olive oil
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2. While the garlic roasts, hard-boil the eggs: place them in cold water, bring to a boil, cook for 10 minutes, then transfer to an ice bath. Once cool, peel and set aside. Peel and dice the potatoes into 2 cm cubes. Roughly chop the parsley root, celery stalks, onion, and leek (white and light green parts).
1 piece Yellow onion,
1 piece Leek,
2 piece Celery stalks,
3 piece Waxy potatoes,
1 piece Parsley root,
4 piece Hard-boiled eggs
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3. In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the remaining olive oil. Add the onion and leek and cook, stirring often, for 8–10 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the celery and parsley root and cook for a further 3 minutes.
1 tbsp Olive oil,
2 tbsp Unsalted butter,
1 piece Yellow onion,
1 piece Leek,
2 piece Celery stalks,
1 piece Parsley root
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4. Add the dried marjoram, dried thyme, bay leaves, and whole black peppercorns to the pot and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in the vegetable stock, add the diced potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 20–25 minutes until the potatoes are completely tender.
3 piece Waxy potatoes,
1 tsp Dried marjoram,
0.5 tsp Dried thyme,
2 piece Bay leaves,
0.5 tsp Whole black peppercorns,
1.5 L Vegetable stock
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5. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the roasted garlic paste and use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup — blend about half of it, leaving some potato texture for body. Alternatively, transfer half to a blender, purée, and stir back in.
1 piece Garlic bulb
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6. Reduce the heat to low. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream with a ladleful of hot soup to temper it (this prevents curdling), then pour the mixture back into the pot and stir well. Add the apple cider vinegar, salt, and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning — the broth should be pleasantly sour and well-salted. Do not boil after adding the sour cream.
0.8 cup Sour cream,
2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar,
1.5 tsp Salt,
0.2 tsp White pepper
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7. Finely chop the fresh dill and chives. Stir most of the dill (reserving some for garnish) into the soup and let it steep for 2 minutes off the heat.
1 cup Fresh dill,
0.2 cup Fresh chives
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8. Halve the hard-boiled eggs. Ladle the borscht into deep bowls, place two egg halves in each bowl, and finish with a generous scatter of remaining dill and chives. Serve immediately with crusty bread on the side.
4 piece Hard-boiled eggs,
1 cup Fresh dill,
0.2 cup Fresh chives,
4 slice Crusty bread (to serve)
By mansi