I come from a Polish background, and for us that means a traditional Polish Christmas Eve, with 12 meatless dishes.  This is my regular Borscht recipe; for Christmas eve, see below.

Barszcz recipe –with meat

Ingredients:
Pork soup bones (short ribs or whatever is the least expensive)
1 onion
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
Water

1.        Place all ingredients in stock pot; bring to a boil, turn down to simmer all day.  In the evening, strain, separate meat from bones and keep the meat to add back to soup.  Discard bones, set strained stock in fridge overnight.

2.       In the morning, strain any hardened fat from top of stock, place pot back on stove.  Add the following:

              Large bunch of beets, peeled and diced (usually about 12 medium)

              Chopped beet leaves (about 2 cups)
              ½ head cabbage, coarsely chopped
              1 can condensed tomato soup
             More water, as necessary (you may have to keep adding water to thin the stock)
             The pork from the bones that you set aside

 (NOTE:  Other vegetables may be added if desired; corn, beans, carrots, potatoes, but then you need more beets to keep the taste authentic).  I REALLY hate corn, unless it's "on the cob", so I never put this in, but sometimes I will add chunks of potatoes and carrots.

 Simmer all till beets and cabbage are soft, about 4 hours

***When the soup is done, just before serving, add either a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, OR about ½ c of pickled beet juice, OR a couple of sprinkles of sour salt (citric acid if you have). *This is important to add, or your soup will not taste like proper Barszcz!  Add this ingredient a little at a time and keep tasting, as it all depends on how much soup you’ve made!

 

For Christmas Eve Barszcz

 Just make all the vegetables into the stock (no meat or bones), simmer well, and strain veggies from pot.

Add the condensed tomato soup and sour salt (or vinegar, or pickled beet juice), and more diced beets if desired.

Serve with Uszky.