Signature Classic Ukrainian Borsch

Name: Signature Classic Ukrainian Borsch
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Signature Cuisine,Ukrainian
Ingredients: Beef stock: 3 l; Cabbage: 1/2 head of; Beetroot: 2; Red wine vinegar 5%: 2 tbsp of; Salt: pinch of; Extra Virgin olive oil: 1 tsbp of; Onion: 200 g of; Carrot: 200 g of; Celery root: 100 g; Parsley root: 70 g of; Parsnip: 70 g of; Fennel bulb: 100 g of; Extra Virgin olive oil: 2 tbsp of; Bay leaf: 1; Pimento: 2 peppercorns; Dill: 1/2 bunch of; Parsley leaves: 1/2 bunch of; Celery leaves: 1/2 bunch of; Salt: to taste; Garlic: 2 cloves of; Tomato paste: 3 tbsp; Salt: to taste; Red wine vinegar 5%: to taste

Features:

Cuisine:

60 minutes
Serves 8
Medium

Ingredients

3 l Beef stock
or water
1/2 head of Cabbage
15 cm in diameter
BEETS:
2 Beetroot
medium beets, 8 to 10 cm in diameter
2 tbsp of Red wine vinegar 5%
or raspberry vinegar
pinch of Salt
1 tsbp of Extra Virgin olive oil
Vegetables to sauté:
200 g of Onion
200 g of Carrot
100 g Celery root
or celery stalk
70 g of Parsley root
70 g of Parsnip
optionally
100 g of Fennel bulb
optionally
2 tbsp of Extra Virgin olive oil
Spices and herbs:
1 Bay leaf
dried
2 peppercorns Pimento
1/2 bunch of Dill
1/2 bunch of Parsley leaves
1/2 bunch of Celery leaves
to taste Salt
Dressing:
2 cloves of Garlic
3 tbsp Tomato paste
to taste Salt
to taste Red wine vinegar 5%
or raspberry vinegar

Directions

Borsch was one of the first recipes I published on the website. The time has come to update it. This is a truly wonderful dish, a symbol of Ukrainian cuisine known all over the world. We love it and I cook it regularly. I’m delighted every time by its rich and full flavor and how many different vitamins and nutrients are in it!!! I adore it!

There are thousands of variations of Ukrainian Borsch and every hostess has her own recipe and her own taste, color and consistency of borsch. One of my grandmother’s borsch had a sweetish taste and a maroon color, the other’s had a red color with a more pronounced sourness. My girlfriend’s mom cooks a super delicious southern version of borsch with the addition of sweet bell peppers and fresh tomatoes. And so on… I give today my signature version of the Classical Ukrainian Borsch. My formula for success is a lot of different vegetables, herbs and spices. Also, I cook the borsch without potatoes, the classic version has them.

Another life hack – put the boiled meat on the plate already when serving, otherwise, after spending time in the pot, it will be colored in maroon color.

Classic borsch is cooked with strong meat and bone beef broth. In summer, in hot weather, we cook a lean version with water that you can even eat cold.

Total visits: 668.
Today's visits: 1.

Steps

1 Done	STEWING THE BEETS WITH VINEGAR: Peel the beets and slice them thinly (approximate size 4 cm long and 2 mm thick). The taste and appearance of your borsch will depend on how you cut your beets. For example, if you grate the beets, you won't notice them, but if you slice them coarsely, they will be way too noticeable and feel rougher in your mouth. So, I chose to cut them into thin strips as they nicely complement long strips of cabbage. Place the sliced beets in a pan with a lid and add salt, olive oil and vinegar. Then cover them and stew over low heat under a lid until the beets are tender (they should be soft but still firm). Such cooking of beets as stewing with vinegar will keep their intense color, elasticity and will save the overall time of cooking the borsch. Cooking the beets will take about 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, we will prepare all the other vegetables.
2 Done	SAUTEING THE VEGETABLES: Dice the onion and root vegetables into small cubes and cut the carrots into quarter rings. In a pot, in which we will cook borsch, pour olive oil and heat it and add the diced vegetables. Saute them until soft and golden.
3 Done	ADDING THE CABBAGE: When the sauteed vegetables are done, add the broth to the pot and bring it to a boil. While the broth starts boiling, or before that, slice the cabbage into thin strips. When the broth boils, add dry spices such as allspice, bay leaf, lovage, dill and parsley, if you are using dried ones and salt to taste. Then, add the cabbage and cook it for 5 minutes.
4 Done	ADDING THE BEETS: By this time, the beets should be cooked. Now add them to the pot, stir and cook them together for another 5 minutes.
5 Done	DRESSING THE BORSCH: Chop the fresh greens finely. Add the tomato paste to the pot, stir well, bring the pot to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Taste the borsch, season it with salt and vinegar to taste. Remove from the heat, add the greens and the pressed garlic directly into the pot. Then, stir it, cover with a lid and let it stand for at least 30 minutes. The borsch will reach its full flavor after a night in the fridge.