Organic Borscht with Basil, Red Lentils and Purple Cabbage (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Delicious & Fragrant Organic Borscht with Basil, Red Lentils, and Purple Cabbage

I was at Costco today and saw a 2-4 servings package of ready-made beet borscht for ... are you ready?... $12+ change!!!!!  I knew I had beets at home in the fridge (thanks to that wonderful organic-vegetable-growing son of mine who harvested close to 3000# of beets this Fall!) and I DO know how to make borscht, so I could hardly wait to get home to make such a valuable-- and delicious of course-- soup.

And this borscht I am making is ORGANIC, it does not have any GMO possibilities, or high fructose corn syrup lacings.  This recipe will feed 5 people... so, I guess it must be worth about $25?  You can make it too:

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. Coconut Oil
• 4 small Onions, halved and sliced (3 cups)
• 1 T. organic dried whole Basil
• 2 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced
• 3 medium Beets, peeled and grated, or pulsed until fine in Food Processor
• Greens from beets (or bunch of Swiss Chard) sliced into thin ribbons
• 2 C. Purple Cabbage, sliced into thin ribbons
• 1 tsp. freshly ground Black Pepper
• ½ cup small Red Lentils
• 2 L. (or 2 Qt.) Filtered Water
• 1 ½ T. Caraway Seeds
• 1 ripe Avocado, for garnish, OR whirl up Cashew Sour Cream  (at the link, scroll down to find recipe)
• 8  Lemon wedges
• 
  

Method:

1. Heat Coconut Oil in a large, heavy pot. Add Onions, Basil, and Celtic Sea Salt; and sauté for about five minutes to soften.  Add in the Garlic next, stirring and cooking for an additional minute . Add in Beets, Cabbage, Lentils, Pepper and, Water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Add liquorishy Caraway Seeds and Greens or Chard. and cook until the Green have wilted (about 3 to 4 minutes).

2. Serve soup hot or cold, garnished with Avocado Slices and  a squeeze of  Lemon.

*The above recipe was an adaptation of a borscht recipe on Vegetarian Times.com site.