Polish Bortsch

Ingredients
6 large Beets
1 slice dark rye Bread
4 cups lukewarm Water
Salt And Pepper
Optional dash Sugar

Method

Method 1:

Peel and dice the beetroot. Cover with lukewarm water (put the bread in too) and let stand for 4 days in a warm place. After that time, it should be sour and tasty. Skim off any mold that may appear and discard the bread and season to taste. Serve with cooked diced beetroot, chopped hardboiled eggs and fresh cucumber, garnish with a spoon of thick sour cream and chopped fresh dill. Sometimes if you wish, chopped yabby and diced ham or other cold meat can be added.

Method 2:

You can also make the soup by using plenty of peeled sliced beetroots, some onion, carrot, 1-2 peppercorns and bay leaves. When the soup starts boiling, add some lemon juice (or vinegar) to bring out the bright red colour of the beetroot. When the vegetables are soft, retain only liquid and beetroot and season with salt, sugar and more lemon juice if necessary. Let it cool.

To accentuate the colour I sometimes add also tinned beetroot, diced finely. Serve very cold with the same ingredients and garnish as for Method 1