Instructions: In a Dutch oven, saute the onions in butter for about 5 minutes. Stir in the beets, then add vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Pour in 1/2 cup of the stock, cover, and simmer for an hour.

Pour the rest of the stock into the soup, add the chopped cabbage, and bring to a boil. Stir in the ham and beef, parsley and bay leaf, and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls, sprinkle with chopped fresh dill, and serve with a bowl of whipped sour cream.

Comments: A grand Russian soup of the people - serve hot, as a meal or as a first course, to 6 to 8 people.

Souptale: Borscht was originally named after a weed - the borshchevik - a universal ingredient in the earliest days of soupmaking. It was only later, in the 10th and 11th centuries, that peasants starting adding beetroot, when it was imported from from Europe into the Ukraine - which then became the main beet-growing region in Russia. In fact, the classic Russian borsch, as noted, is called "malorossisky borscht," from the Old Russian name for Ukraine. While Ukrainians used their abundant beets for everyday soup, in the less fertile north borscht was a special treat only to be cooked for festivals. Thus its great popularity with northern artists. Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol were known to savor their borscht to the very last drop.

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