Borscht

Ingredients

Broth

• 800 gpork ribs or beef short rib on the bone
• 3 litrescold water
• 1onion, halved
• 1carrot
• 2bay leaves
• 6black peppercorns
• 2 tspsalt

Vegetables

• 500 graw beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated
• 300 gwhite cabbage, finely shredded
• 3potatoes, cut in 2 cm cubes
• 1large onion, finely chopped
• 1carrot, grated
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tbspsugar
• 2 tbspvinegar or the juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tbspsunflower oil
• 1 tspsalt

Zaprashka and finish

• 60 gsalo (cured pork back fat) or 40 g butter
• 4garlic cloves
• Large handful of dill, chopped
• 200 gsour cream (smetana)
• 1 bunchof dill and parsley stalks, tied

Pampushky

• 300 gplain flour
• 1 tspinstant yeast
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar
• 180 mlwarm milk
• 2 tbspoil
• 5garlic cloves crushed with 3 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp water and a pinch of salt, for brushing

Directions

1. Cover the meat with cold water, bring slowly to a boil, skim thoroughly, add the halved onion, whole carrot, bay and peppercorns and simmer gently 1.5 hours until the meat is tender. Strain, keep the broth, and shred the meat off the bones.
2. Meanwhile make the pampushky: knead the dough 8 minutes, prove 1 hour, shape into 8 balls in a round tin, prove 30 minutes and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20 minutes. Brush the hot buns generously with the garlic oil.
3. Fry the grated beetroot in the sunflower oil over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add the tomato paste, sugar and vinegar and cook 10 minutes more, covered, over low heat. The acid is what fixes the colour – beetroot cooked without it turns brown and the soup loses its ruby red.
4. In a second pan, fry the chopped onion and grated carrot for 8 minutes until soft and golden.
5. Bring the broth back to a boil, add the potatoes and cook 10 minutes, then the cabbage and cook 5 minutes more – it should keep a slight bite.
6. Add the beetroot mixture, the fried onion and carrot and the shredded meat, and the tied herb stalks. Simmer 10 minutes and taste: it must be clearly sweet-and-sour, not merely earthy.
7. Pound the salo with the garlic and a little dill in a mortar into a smooth paste and stir it into the pot off the heat. This zaprashka is the old thickening and enriching step that gives Ukrainian borscht its particular body and aroma.
8. Cover and let it stand off the heat for at least 20 minutes – borscht is always better after resting, and better still the next day. Remove the herb stalks, ladle into bowls with a spoon of smetana and a shower of dill, and serve with hot garlic pampushky.

Technique

• Ukrainian borscht was inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in urgent need of safeguarding in 2022. There are hundreds of regional and family versions; what is constant is beetroot, a sour note and the resting.
• Never boil the beetroot naked in the broth. Stewing it separately with acid keeps the colour bright; long boiling with cabbage will turn the whole pot a dull brick brown.
• Sour cream goes in the bowl, not the pot. Stirring it into a boiling soup splits it into curds.

Substitutions

• Salo can be replaced with butter for the zaprashka, or omitted entirely – the soup is thinner but still good.
• Beet kvas, sauerkraut brine or a spoon of sour apple all serve as the souring agent in place of vinegar, and each is traditional somewhere.

Variations

• Green borscht (zeleny borshch) made with sorrel and egg instead of beetroot, eaten in spring.
• Lenten borscht with dried mushrooms and beans, served with vushka dumplings at Christmas Eve.

History

Beetroot soup of East Slavic origin eaten with smetana; UNESCO listed the culture of Ukrainian borscht in 2022.

Frequently asked questions

What is Borscht?

Borscht is a soup & stew from Russia: beet soup with beef, cabbage, dollop of smetana. Beetroot soup of East Slavic origin eaten with smetana; UNESCO listed the culture of Ukrainian borscht in 2022.

How long does Borscht take to make?

Borscht takes 40 min of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Borscht?

Yes, within limits. Salo can be replaced with butter for the zaprashka, or omitted entirely – the soup is thinner but still good. Beet kvas, sauerkraut brine or a spoon of sour apple all serve as the souring agent in place of vinegar, and each is traditional somewhere.

What is the most important thing to get right in Borscht?

Add the beetroot mixture, the fried onion and carrot and the shredded meat, and the tied herb stalks. Simmer 10 minutes and taste: it must be clearly sweet-and-sour, not merely earthy.