Borscht

Ingredients

• 800 g meat on the bone
• 2.5 l water
• 50 g dried beans (soaked overnight)
• 250 g white cabbage
• 6 small potatoes
• 400 g beetroot
• 2 carrots
• 2 onion
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 140 g tomato paste
• 1 tbsp vinegar (9%)
• 1 tsp salt
• 10 black peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 g green onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 15 g fresh dill
• 15 g fresh parsley
• sour cream

Cookware

• large pot
• large skillet

Steps

Classic Ukrainian beet soup with a rich bone broth base. The key is cooking the beet separately with vinegar and sugar to preserve its deep ruby color, and letting the finished soup rest before serving.

1. Place meat on the bone in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam. Add dried beans and simmer on low heat for 1.5 hours.

2. While the broth cooks, prepare the vegetables. Shred white cabbage into thin strips. Dice potatoes into cubes. Grate beetroot on a coarse grater. Grate carrots on a coarse grater. Finely dice onion.

3. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Saute the onion for 1 minute, then add the carrots and fry for 2 minutes more, stirring.

4. Add the beetroot to the skillet along with salt, vegetable oil, sugar, tomato paste, and vinegar. Reduce heat to low, cover, and braise for 15 minutes.

Braising the beetroot separately with vinegar and sugar is essential

5. Remove the meat from the broth, separate from bones, and cut into small cubes.

6. Add the potatoes to the broth and cook for 10 minutes. Add salt, black peppercorns, and bay leaves. Add the cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes.

7. Add the braised vegetables and the meat back to the pot. Stir well and simmer on low heat for 3 minutes.

8. Add finely chopped green onion, pressed garlic, chopped fresh dill, and fresh parsley. Turn off the heat, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.

9. Serve with sour cream on the side.