Karelian Borscht

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups beets, peeled and grated
• 4 cups chopped red or green cabbage
• 2/3 cup carrots, medium dice
• 1/2 cup fennel bulb, small dice
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups broth, beef or vegetable
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 pound sausage, your choice, Italian and Wiesswurst are nice choices
• Lemon slices and sour cream for garnish

1. Melt the butter in an enameled 4-quart Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the grated beets. Cook the beets until they are tender.
2. Add the fennel, garlic, carrots and cabbage. Stir a few times then add the broth, sugar, bay leaf and vinegar. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
3. If the sausage is raw, cook it whole in a separate pan being sure to brown the casings nicely. Once they are cooked, remove them from the pan, slice them and add them to the soup towards the end of cooking, and likewise, if the sausages were precooked, slice and add them toward the end of cooking as well.
4. Once the sausage is warm, the veggies tender, serve the soup hot with sour cream and lemon slices on the side.

unsalted butter, beets, red, carrots, fennel bulb, garlic, bay leaf, broth, red wine vinegar, sugar, sausage, lemon slices

Taken from food52.com/recipes/20253-karelian-borscht (may not work)