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www.groovekorea.com / November 2014 70 fOOD & DRINK Edited by Shelley DeWees (shelley@groovekorea.com) T he first time I encoun- tered borscht was at a friend’s fancy dinner par- ty where, after one too many glasses of ridicu- lously delicious, properly stored, served-in-appropri- ate-stemware Bordeaux, a huge steaming pot of blood-red soup was placed on the table in front of me. As her hus- band ladled, I gawked — wait, it’s made out of what again? “Beets!” she said. “And some other veggies and stuff. Do you want a scoop of sour cream on top?” Oh, right. Beets. The divisive root vegeta- ble you either love or hate. Beet-haters will tell you — and not incorrectly — that any- thing you have to roast for hours and cover in goat cheese to make passable should never be considered yummy. Those who pitch their tent in this camp might boldly say, “Shelley, I’m serious, those (expletive) things taste like dirt,” or like a coworker recently shared, “Well I like ‘em now, but I had to realize their flavor was never going to change.” She just accept- ed it; her relationship with beets is flawed, but I guess they’re better together? For me, this borscht experience was em- blematic of the perfect food encounter, the kind of thing every foodie goes bibbledy over. First there was the sexy color, a deep saucy red that invoked all kinds of naughty thoughts as I gazed into it, not caring about the elegant dinnerware or fine spoon I was about to sully. Then, as I slurped the first bit ove r my tongue, a second beautiful thing happened: I realized it actually tasted pretty, too, like some kind of sweet-earthy elixir of love. I freaked. I slurped again, freaked again. I became a beet-lover for life. And honestly, it’s a good thing, because beets are insanely healthy and cost very, very little (for real, less than apples). There are a lot of ways to learn to love them — a fried fennel and beet hash comes to mind, maybe with a few fried eggs or sausage if that’s your thing, or pasta tossed with a beet puree, or a rockin’ beet-n-bean burger — but personally I think the best way to find your inner beet-lov- er is to whip up a pot of borscht, where the beet is most iconic. SEOuL vEGGIE KITChEN Story by Shelley DeWees / photos by Liz West We’re in the mood for borscht A Russo-Ukran ian consommé