Red borscht

Name: Red borscht
Prep time: 5 d 1 h
Cook time: 2 h
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 kg raw beetroot, peeled and sliced; 1.5 litres cooled boiled water; 1 tbsp salt; 4 garlic cloves; 1 slice of rye bread, if wanted; 50 g dried wild mushrooms; 2 litres water; 2 onions, halved; 2 carrots; 1 parsley root; 1/4 celeriac; 4 allspice berries; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 2 tbsp sugar, or to taste; 1 tbsp lemon juice; salt and black pepper; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 300 g plain flour; 1 egg; 120 ml warm water; 1/2 tsp salt; the cooked mushrooms from the stock; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 tbsp butter; 3 tbsp breadcrumbs; salt and pepper

Makes 8 servings

Units

Ingredients

Beetroot sour

1 kgraw beetroot, peeled and sliced
1.5 litrescooled boiled water
1 tbspsalt
4garlic cloves
1 sliceof rye bread, if wanted

Mushroom stock

50 gdried wild mushrooms
2 litreswater
2onions, halved
2carrots
1parsley root
1/4celeriac
4allspice berries
2bay leaves
1 tspblack peppercorns

To finish

2 tbspsugar, or to taste
1 tbsplemon juice
salt and black pepper
4garlic cloves, crushed

Uszka dough

300 gplain flour
1egg
120 mlwarm water
1/2 tspsalt

Uszka filling

the cooked mushrooms from the stock
1onion, finely chopped
2 tbspbutter
3 tbspbreadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Directions

Peel the beetroot and slice it fairly thin. Put it into a large clean jar. Add the salt, garlic and the rye bread if you are using it. Pour over cooled boiled water to cover everything by several centimetres. Managing the ferment is straightforward but needs watching.
Cover the jar with a cloth rather than a sealed lid. Leave it at room temperature for five to seven days. Judging the ferment takes daily attention. Discard the whole jar if you see fuzzy coloured mould. Discard it if it smells putrid rather than cleanly sour.
Strain it once it is properly sour and refrigerate it. Making the stock is done separately. Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for an hour. Keep the soaking water, which is full of flavour. Strain that water through a cloth to remove grit.
Put the mushrooms, their strained water and the two litres in a pot. Add the onions, carrots, parsley root and celeriac. Add the allspice, bay and peppercorns. Bring the pot up to a bare simmer.
Simmer it for ninety minutes, uncovered. Never let it boil hard, which clouds it. Strain it through muslin and discard the vegetables. Keep the mushrooms for the dumpling filling. Making the uszka filling is done while the stock cooks.
Chop the cooked mushrooms very finely. Melt the butter and cook the chopped onion for eight minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for five minutes more. Cook until the mixture is quite dry.
Stir in the breadcrumbs, which absorb the last moisture. Season it well and let it cool completely. A wet filling tears the very thin dough. Mix the flour and salt, add the egg and warm water. Knead it for ten minutes until smooth and elastic.
Cover it and rest it for thirty minutes. Shaping uszka is fiddly and takes patience. Roll the dough out very thin, almost translucent. Cut it into squares of about four centimetres. Put a tiny amount of filling on each square.
Fold it into a triangle and press the edges closed. Set them on a floured tray as you go. Cooking the uszka is done separately from the soup. Boil them in salted water for three or four minutes. They will float when they are done.
Lift them out and keep them warm. Heat the strained mushroom stock in a clean pot. Add the crushed raw garlic to it. Add the beetroot sour a little at a time. Taste as you go, since sours vary in strength. Never boil the soup once the beetroot sour is in. Keep it just below a bare simmer. Warm it through gently for five minutes only.
Add sugar a little at a time until it balances the sour. Add lemon juice if the colour has dulled at all. Season with salt and black pepper. It should be clear, deep red, sharply sour and slightly sweet. Put five or six uszka in each warmed bowl. Ladle the hot clear borscht over them. Serve it as the first course of the Christmas Eve supper.

Technique

Never boil the soup once the beetroot sour is in, since it destroys the colour and the sourness.
Cook the uszka separately, as their flour would cloud the clear soup.
Discard the ferment if it shows fuzzy mould or smells putrid rather than cleanly sour.

Substitutions

Bottled beetroot sour, sold in Polish shops, if you have no time to ferment.
Dried porcini in place of mixed wild mushrooms.

Variations

Served plain in a mug, without uszka.
With a meat stock, outside the Christmas Eve fast.
With small pasta squares instead of filled uszka.

History

Clear soup of fermented beetroot sour served with tiny uszka dumplings as the opening course of the Christmas Eve supper.

Frequently asked questions

What is Red borscht?

Red borscht is a soup & stew from Poland: clear beet broth with tiny uszka dumplings, Christmas Eve. Clear soup of fermented beetroot sour served with tiny uszka dumplings as the opening course of the Christmas Eve supper.

How long does Red borscht take to make?

Red borscht takes 1 hour plus 5 days for the sour of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Red borscht?

Yes, within limits. Bottled beetroot sour, sold in Polish shops, if you have no time to ferment. Dried porcini in place of mixed wild mushrooms.

What is the most important thing to get right in Red borscht?

Cover the jar with a cloth rather than a sealed lid. Leave it at room temperature for five to seven days. Judging the ferment takes daily attention. Discard the whole jar if you see fuzzy coloured mould. Discard it if it smells putrid rather than cleanly sour.