Winter Deconstructed Borscht Salad (But Better)

I know. You see "borscht" and you think "Hell. Yeah. Borscht is my jam." (said no one ever).

BUT...This is one of our current favorite salads. So much so, we made it twice in a row in one day. Give it a chance to get some beet, cabbage and crispy potatoes in your life.

Today's salad recipe is the final recipe in our early February meal planning menu series. We worked with lots of winter flavors in this menu: garlic rolls, cabbage stuffed pork loin, a fermented rye raisin drink and today a deconstructed look at borscht. Borscht, in the most basic description ever, is a beet soup with a ton of variations. It can be hot or cold. It can be made with basically any kind of broth but it typically also includes cabbage, potatoes and carrots. 

See where we're going with this?

This salad has a Savoy cabbage base (so you can use the rest of the cabbage from the stuffed pork loin! And BTW, you will still have cabbage leftover. Because cabbage multiplies). It's topped with other borscht ingredients cut different ways. A successful salad has lots of texture. The carrots become ribbons. The beets become wedges and the potatoes become delicious hashbrown cubes. And for the sour, creamy element of some borscht variations, we have goat cheese. If you think about it, you could pretty much take any soup and translate it to a salad. 

Deconstructed Borscht Salad

serves 1 for a large salad (scale up for more)

/// Ingredients ///

• 2 T crumbled goat cheese
• 1/8 Red Onion, thinly sliced and chopped
• 2 medium pre-cooked and peeled beets, cut into wedges
• 1 medium carrot, peeled into ribbons (multi colored carrots used here)
• 1/2 c square hashbrowns
• 1.5 T of vegetable oil
• table salt (to taste)
• 3/4 c Savoy cabbage, shredded
• 1 T fresh flat leaf parsley, torn 

Dressing

• freshly ground Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons beef bone broth or mushroom broth
• 1 Tablespoon Farmhouse Culture original gut shot or vinegar 
• 1 Tablespoon EVOO
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

/// Directions /// Slice and prepare produce. To cook hashbrowns, add vegetable oil to a skillet and cook with hashbrowns on medium high heat. Wait several minutes and allow a crust to develop on the potatoes before turning. Potatoes are done when a crust has developed on all sides. Salt lightly. Arrange produce in a bowl or on a large plate. Top with goat cheese. To make dressing whisk dressing ingredients together and spoon over top of salad. Note: This makes enough for at least 2 servings of this salad.