Soak the dried porcini in hot water. Peel the potatoes and simmer them in a separate pot for later. If you prefer to add the potatoes directly to the soup, cut them into pieces and add them together with the beets in step 4.
Dice the onion and grate the carrot. Fry both in a large pot with a generous amount of salt until the onion is translucent.
In the meantime, grate the beetroot.
Add the tomato paste (if using) and the crushed garlic to the pot and stir for a couple of minutes. If not using tomato paste, just fry the garlic briefly.
Add the beetroot, bay leaves, allspice, soaked porcini along with their soaking water, and the stock. Cover with a lid and simmer until the beetroot has softened.
Add the beans at the end and adjust the seasoning, adding more stock if needed. Serve with sour cream or vegan yogurt, dill, and the potatoes.
