Put washed meat in a large pot with 9 cups of boiling water (hold 10th cup in reserve, on a low simmer, to use if soup becomes too thick). Add bay leaves, cabbage and peppercorns to the soup, and begin simmering.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a fry pan, saute onions, carrots and celery, and add to simmering soup. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel. Peel beets and cut them into narrow strips. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in fry pan.
Saute beets along with vinegar and just enough water to cover them.
When beets are tender, add flour, mix well and add thickened beets to simmering soup, which is ready whenever meat becomes tender. (If using meat with bones, remove the bones when cooked meat falls off the bone.)
Add tomatoes to soup and boil quickly for 8 to 10 minutes. Take meat out, cut into bite-sized pieces and return to soup. Add garlic, at least 1 tablespoon each of parsley and dill, and salt to taste. Turn heat off under soup and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes before serving. Remove bay leaves.
Serve borscht in large soup bowls, into which you scoop a tablespoon of sour cream, and sprinkle with additional chopped parsley and dill.
Adapted from "Russian Cookbook," by Kira Petrovskaya
Per serving: 344 calories, 29 grams protein, 19 grams fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 13 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 106 milligrams cholesterol, 131 milligrams sodium
