Recipe - Navy Bean Borsch

1 cup Dry navy beans
2 One half pound Lean beef
One half pound Slab bacon
10 cup Cold water
1 Bay leaf
One half cup Sour cream
8 Whole peppercorns
2 cl Garlic
2 tablespoon Dried parsley
1 Carrot
1 Celery stalk
1 lg Red onion
1 teaspoon Salt (optional)
8 Beets for soup
2 small Beets
2 cup Shredded green cabbage
2 lg Sliced leeks
3 md Potatoes, cut into 1/8's
1 cn (1 pound 13 oz) tomatos
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
3 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
4 tablespoon Sugar
1 pound Kielbasa (optional)
2 tablespoon Flour
1 tablespoon Melted butter

Cover beans with water and allow to soak overnight: cook until tender;
drain; set aside. Place beef, bacon & water in large soup pot;bring to a
boil. Skim fat from surface. Add bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, parsley,
carrot, celery, onion & salt. Cover & simmer over low heat for about 1 1/2
hours. Scrub beets for soup & cook in boiling water until tender, about 45
minutes; drain and discard water; cool. Peel and cut each beet into eights.
Scrub small beets; grate; cover with water to soak. Remove meat from soup;
set aside. Strain soup into anothe pot and add cooked beats, cabbage,
leeks, potatoes, tomatos, tomnato paste, vinegar, sugar, beef & bacon.
Bring to a boil and simmer 45 minutes. Cut kielbasa into chunks and add
with navy beans to soup. Simmer 20 minutes more. Mix flour and butter
together to form paste. Stir into soup to thicken slightly. Strain raw
beets, saving liquid and discarding beets. Add beet liquid to soup.
Additional sugar or vinegar may be added for sweeter or more sour flavor.
Slice meat and arrange in individual soup bowls. Pour hot soup with
vegetables over meat. Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream, if
desired.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini