Romanian Beet Soup, Supa de Sfecla

from "A Romanian Cookbook"

Thinking surely a country bordering Ukraine would have a beet soup I found this one at “A Romanian Cookbook”, link below. In Ukraine it would be described as a beet soup without meat. It meets all criteria of being included in a collection of borsch.

Ingredients as shown in the original recipe

2 pounds/1 kg red beets

3 quarts/3 liters water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon vinegar

salt to taste

1 teaspoon butter, softened

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup sour cream

Instructions as I write them

Clean the beets well and coarse grate.
Boil uncovered 30-40 minutes.

Strain; reserving the liquid.

Add sugar and vinegar to the beet juice liquid. This is to adjust the taste to a mild tartness that is very characteristic of borsch.

Add salt to taste.

Mix  the butter, flour and sour cream to a smooth even colored consistency.

Bring the beet juice mixture to second boil and mix in the butter mixture.

Boil to thicken.

It is recommended to serve with noodles or toast. I prefer dark break and toasted is good. For noodles I prefer the German/Hungarian style of spatzel. I prefer to scrape the dough off the back of a cookie sheet into boiling water. But that is a different cooking show!