Russian Borscht

Ingredients:

1 whole green cabbage, roughly slices
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

4 medium size beetroot, washed & roughly chopped (wearing gloves is advisable when chopping).  You can also use the greens in the soup by adding it to the soup 10 minutes before serving.

2 bay leaves

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 medium potato, roughly chopped (optional – you can replace with sweet potato)

4 sticks celery, roughly chopped

1 green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes or 4 tbsp. tomato puree (optional)

¼ cup fresh dill weed

2 tbsp. sunflower/olive oil

Black pepper and salt to taste