Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Food

Hot beet borscht, or cold

The day American democracy withstood an attack on the seat of its government, Jan. 6, 2020, I decided to make a festive meal — after all Jews have created whole holidays over much less. But what food goes with this celebration? Beet borscht, I decided. It’s comforting, fast (so we can get back to guarding Congress against all enemies domestic and…domestic), and full of nourishment— for the long fight ahead. Serve hot every Jan. 6, or cold, on July 4.

Beet Borscht

4 medium beets, peeled and quartered
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 T. chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper
1 t. lemon juice, kvass or apple cider vinegar, or to taste

Place all the ingredients except vinegar in a large pot or Instant Pot. Add cool water just to cover. Bring to boil then cover and simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about an hour. In an Instant Pot this takes 30 minutes.

Remove cover and using a stick blender or regular blender, puree until very smooth. Add vinegar. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper and vinegar. Serve hot or cold with a plop of sour cream or yogurt and some fresh dill.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.