Lean borscht with lentils – step by step recipe with photo

1. Rinse the lentils several times, remove low-quality grains that will float.

2. Peel potatoes, wash, cut into small cubes.

3. Pour water into a saucepan, put potatoes and lentils, bring to a boil, remove foam, continue cooking over low heat. Cooking time for green lentils in the instructions is 40 minutes, so I put it at the very beginning of cooking. Just by the end of cooking borscht, lentils will be ready along with vegetables. Rather, the potatoes and lentils will boil a little and thicken the borscht.

4. Peel, wash and dry vegetables for frying – carrots, beets, onions, parsnips.

5. Cut the beets into thin strips.

6. Parsnip cut into short thin strips.

7. Cut carrots into thin strips.

8. Finely chop the onion.

9. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, put chopped vegetables, mix. Simmer over low heat until the vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.

10. When the vegetables are soft, put the tomato paste in the pan.

11. Pour a little boiled water into the dressing, mix.

12. Put seasoning from dried vegetables into the dressing, mix, simmer for 5 – 7 minutes.

13. While the dressing was being prepared, the vegetables in the pan were already cooked. Put the dressing in a saucepan, mix, cook for 5 minutes, salt a little.

14. Cabbage cut into thin strips.

15. Add the cabbage to the pan, cook until the cabbage is cooked, but do not overcook.

16. Wash greens, dry, finely chop.

17. Put greens, bay leaf into borscht, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Let the borscht brew for 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

18. Pour the finished borsch on plates and serve. Delicious both hot and cold. Bon appetit!