Cyndi Lauper’s go to meal on the road is borscht, a hearty beet soup she makes herself so that she and her crew can eat well on tour. She has not shared her exact recipe, but a highly rated version from Recipe to Cook comes very close to the spirit of it, and it can be made with or without sausage depending on whether you want to follow her vegetarian approach.
That is the short answer. The longer story is a little more interesting, because it says something about how a pop icon feeds a touring team and why a humble soup keeps winning a place in her routine.
Why a Touring Pop Star Keeps Making Soup
For decades, Lauper has been performing songs like “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” in cities around the world. Life on tour usually means a lot of takeout, but she often chooses to cook instead. Her reasoning is practical: she wants to look after both herself and the people travelling with her, and she follows a vegetarian diet, so a big pot of something warm and filling suits everyone.
She explained how it started when she spoke with Jessie and Lennie Ware on the Table Manners podcast. While on the road, she looked up different recipes and began experimenting with borscht.
What keeps her coming back is not fancy technique. She described the soup as easy to make, and she said she runs most of the ingredients through her “veggie bullet” while travelling. Have you ever noticed that the dishes people rely on most are rarely the complicated ones?
What Borscht Actually Is
Borscht is a hearty soup built on stock, beets and other root vegetables. Some versions add meat such as short rib or sausage, which is why it can be a vegetarian dish or a meaty one depending on who is cooking.
The soup has roots in Eastern and Central Europe and Northern Asia. Its flavor is slightly sweet and tangy, and that balance is what makes it feel different from most other vegetable soups.
Where Lauper’s Version Fits In
Lauper has not published the exact recipe she uses, so there is no official “Cyndi Lauper borscht” to copy. What we do know is that hers is vegetarian and quick to prepare. The recipe below includes sausage as written, but you can skip it entirely and take the vegetarian route she prefers.
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A Borscht Recipe Worth Making on Repeat
Deena, founder of Recipe to Cook calls its Ukrainian red borscht its most beloved borscht recipe, and it has gathered hundreds of five star reviews. One home cook said it was the best one by far, and another reported making it twice with excellent results.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces pork sausage (optional, skip for a vegetarian soup)
- About 8 cups water
- 3 beets, peeled and shredded
- 3 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 3 baking potatoes, cubed
- Half a medium head of cabbage, cored and shredded
- 1 cup drained diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 3/4 cup water, for the tomato paste mixture
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Sour cream and fresh dill or parsley, to serve
Method
- If you are using sausage, crumble it into a skillet over medium high heat and cook until no longer pink. Set it aside. Vegetarian cooks can skip this step.
- Fill a large pot about halfway with water, roughly eight cups, and bring it to a boil. Add the sausage, cover, and return to a boil.
- Stir in the shredded beets and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the carrots and potatoes and keep cooking until the potatoes are tender, about 10 more minutes.
- Stir in the cabbage and the drained diced tomatoes.
- While that simmers, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until tender, then stir in the tomato paste and the 3/4 cup of water until smooth. Pour this mixture into the pot.
- Add the garlic, cover the pot, and turn off the heat.
- Let the soup stand for five minutes, then stir in the sugar and season with salt and pepper.
- Ladle into bowls and finish each with a generous spoonful of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped dill or parsley.
A Shortcut in Lauper’s Spirit
Shredding three beets, three carrots and half a cabbage by hand takes a while. Lauper’s own habit of using a small blender style gadget on the road suggests a sensible approach: let a machine handle the chopping if you have one, and keep the cooking itself simple.
What to Serve Alongside Borscht
The tomatoes bring acidity and the beets bring sweetness, so borscht pairs well with several sides.
Something Creamy on Top
A dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt softens the tangy bites. Most recipes recommend one or the other.
Garlicky Bread for Dipping
Rye, sourdough or pumpernickel all work. Brush slices with garlic butter and toast them until crisp.
A Potato Side
Soft pierogies or crispy latkes turn the soup into a bigger, carb heavy meal.
Questions People Ask About Cyndi Lauper’s Borscht
Has Cyndi Lauper shared her exact borscht recipe?
No. She talked about making borscht on tour but did not give out a specific recipe. The Recipe to Cook version above is a well reviewed alternative.
Is borscht naturally vegetarian?
It can be. The base is stock, beets and other root vegetables, and meat such as short rib or sausage is added in many versions but is not required. Lauper’s own borscht is vegetarian.
What does borscht taste like?
Slightly sweet and tangy. In this recipe the sweetness comes from the beets and the tang from the tomatoes, with a little sugar added at the end.
How do I make this borscht without meat?
Skip the sausage step. Everything else in the recipe stays the same.
Do I need special equipment?
Not really. Lauper said she uses a “veggie bullet” to process ingredients while travelling, but a regular skillet, a large pot and a grater or blender are enough.
What should I put on top?
Sour cream is the classic choice, with fresh dill or parsley sprinkled over it. Greek yogurt also works.
Why does the soup stand for five minutes before serving?
The recipe turns the heat off after adding the garlic and lets the pot rest briefly before the sugar and seasoning go in, so the flavors settle together before you taste and adjust.
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