Harvest

When the first frost decorates the leaves, it's time to collect the carrots and beetroots. The frost makes them a bit sweeter, but of course they shouldn't be left for long. I had only a little vegetable patch, but it was enough to share a borscht-type beetroot soup with few friends, and maybe some roasted beetroots in the future. For a starter we had pickled gherkins with honey and sour cream, and an apple goodie for dessert. Here's the recipe for borscht for 6 person:

6 beetroots
1 potato
1 onion
1 carrot
4 tomatoes, or a can of whole tomatoes
250 g cabbage
2-3 jalapenos
vegetable stock
salt and black pepper
vegetable oil

to garnish:
fresh parsley
sour cream (or smetana in Finnish, this is very thick sour cream, about 42% fat)

Chop the beets, cabbage, potato and carrot into small matchsticks. Soften the chopped onion in a saucepan big enough to hold the whole soup, app. 2 litres. Add the vegetable sticks and soften for few minutes, don't let them brown. Add enough stock to cover, the de-skinned tomatoes and chopped jalapenos. Let simmer for 25 minutes or so. Take app. half of the soup aside and pure the rest. Combine the smooth soup with the chunky, add salt and pepper to taste and reheat gently. You can also add more vegetable stock if you think it needs more liquid. Sprinkle parsley on top and add a dollop of sour cream on top of the soup on your plate.