Roasted Beet and Beef Borscht

I have fallen head-over-heels in love with Mark Bittman's cookbooks: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and How to Cook Everything. This recipe comes from his vegetarian cookbook and I modified it to have lovely tender chunks of beef and potatoes. This is health food at its most elegant and tasty. Unfortunately, no photos are available this time due to technical difficulties, but trust me, this soup is a beautiful magenta colour.

Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs beets (any kind), whole
4 tbsp grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper
1 large white onion, finely chopped
3/4 to 1 lb beef stew meat
1 bunch fresh dill (tied in a bundle) or 1 tbsp dried dill in a tea infuser
1 (15 oz) can reduced sodium chicken broth
Lemon juice, to taste
3 medium red or white waxy potatoes, small dice, boiled until tender
Sour cream or yogurt, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°F. Put beets in a roasting pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with lots of salt and pepper. Roast until a knife pierces with little resistance—about 30 to 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel and finely chop.

Put the remaining oil in a 5 quart pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the onion and beef and cook until onions are soft and beef is seared—3 minutes. Remove beef and cut into really small chunks. Add beef back to pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes more.

In another pot, cook the potatoes. When done, keep them warm.

Add the beets, dill, chicken broth, and 4 cups of water. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to medium-low, cover, and cook until the beef and the beets are tender—about 30 minutes.

Remove the dill from the pot and add lemon juice. Add the potatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve borscht with sour cream/yogurt and a sprinkle of dried dill. Also really good served with a slice of crusty garlic bread.