Putting together a recipe for borsch is a dodgy business as every Russian woman has her own idea of what goes into borsch and anyone who dares to suggest there is one correct way of doing it is either a fool or suicidal. I'm neither - well I'm certainly not suicidal and never have been - so let me be clear about this. This recipe is just one version of the traditional 'recipe' - a vegetarian version, moreover, invented by my wife, who is both Russian and a woman and therefore, can, with some authority, claim to be able to cook borsch.
You might think I'm being a bit sexist here, if you think I'm suggesting that only women should hold authority in matters concerning the preparation of borsch. I'm simply observing the fact that in Russian society, 99.9% of men can't/don't cook and 99.9% of women can/do (there's a subtle semantic difference between the use of 'can' and 'do' here. I don't think this is the place to go into it in depth or else we'll never get to the recipe, but it's worth thinking over - the implications are important, especially in connection with gender issues. The reason many men can't cook is simply because they've never tried - an option rarely open to women).
Here's the recipe. The quantities are for a huge potful so scale down if you want to make less or you don't want to waste too many vegetables mucking it up on your first attempt.
Chop the cabbage and potatoes and put them in a pot that will hold 5 or 6 litres. Fill almost to the top with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about twenty minutes or so, adding the bay leaves and stock cubes after fifteen minutes. While that's happening, prepare the other stuff. Chop the onions, pepper and tomatoes and grate the carrots and beetroot but keep them all separate.
Fry the onion until it's going golden, then add the pepper and cook for a minute or two. Next add the tomatoes and stir around for two minutes before adding the beetroot. Put a lid on the pan and cook for a further 5 or 6 minutes until the beetroot is soft then add the carrots and cook for two more minutes. These last two steps are the only ones you need to take a little care over. If you cook the beetroot too long it will loose it's colour and if you cook the carrots to long it can spoil the taste.
When everything in the frying pan is ready the stuff in the pot should have been going for about twenty minutes, so it's time to mix them together. Switch off the heat, then add the contents of the frying pan to the pot and stir. Chop the dill, throw it in and the soup's ready. Add a little salt at this stage if the stock wasn't salty enough.
Add a dessert spoon of sour cream and/or a little chopped garlic to each bowl when serving.