Soup From the Beet leaves (Botvinnik)

For the botvinnik recipe, peel, wash and cut the potatoes into chunks.

Peel the onion and carrot, chop the onion finely, and grate the carrot on a coarse grater.

Peel the beets and also grate on a coarse grater. Beets and carrots can also be cut into small cubes or strips, but grated they will cook faster.

Wash the beet leaves well, separate the stems from the leaves, but do not throw them away. Finely chop the stems, and chop the leaves coarsely.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat vegetable oil, add beets and chopped beet stalks. Simmer over medium heat until softened, then pour in a ladle of hot water, vinegar, mix and simmer for another 10 minutes. Vinegar is needed so that the beets do not lose their color.

While the beets are stewing, heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a pan, put the chopped onion, and then the carrots. Simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

When all the vegetables are ready, pour stewed carrots and onions, chopped potatoes into a saucepan with beets and pour everything with hot water in an amount of 2 liters.

Cook soup over medium heat, covered, for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

When the potatoes are soft, salt the soup, pepper and add chopped beet leaves. Mix everything, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Botvinnik is served warm with sour cream. Some people don't really like the beetroot sweetness in the soup, this is easy to fix by drizzling the soup with lemon juice.