Borscht

Borscht is a classic Ukrainian soup known for its vibrant red color and rich, hearty flavor. It's a perfect comfort food for cold winter days, but it's also light enough to enjoy in the summer.

Here's how to make it:

Ingredients

• 14-16 oz. of pork ribs
• 2 small beats
• 2 tomatoes
• ¼ head of cabbage
• 3-4 potatoes
• 1-2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 whole allspice berries
• 1 head of garlic
• 7 oz. of tomato juice
• 1,1 oz. of butter (can be replaced by vegetable oil)
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 3 quarts of water
• Seasoning to taste (salt, pepper, dill, parsley, or other herbs upon your taste)

Instructions

Step 1

Start with the broth. Place the ribs, head of garlic, and allspice berries into the water and put it on fire until it boils. Then lower down the heat to low-medium and let it cook for 1-2 hours. The longer you cook the more flavor you will get. Feel free to add other uncut veggies together with the ribs: whole onion, carrots, parsnip, etc., it will only make the flavor richer.

Step 2

As soon as the broth is ready, remove the garlic and other vegetables. Strain the broth if needed. Now you have two different options. You can slightly fry the onion, carrots, beets and tomatoes. Which is a more common approach. Or if you are looking for a lighter version, you can add it directly into the broth without frying.

If you decide to fry the veggies, preheat the pan and melt the butter. Add finely cut onion, grated beets, and grated carrots and fry it on the middle heat until slightly softened. Add tomato paste and cut tomatoes, keep it on fire for a couple more minutes, and put it aside.

If you don't want to dirty your pan, feel free to add these vegetables (except tomatoes) directly into the broth, and let them slightly boil on the middle heat for 10-15 minutes. In this case, tomatoes can be added at the very end together with the cabbage.

Step 3

Peel and cut potatoes and add them to the pan. Add salt to taste and fried veggies. Let it cook until the potato is done.

Step 4

Cut the cabbage, add it to your borscht, and cook for 3-5 minutes. The cabbage should remain slightly al dente.

Step 5

Add tomato juice, bay leaves, and other seasoning to your taste. Let it simmer for another minute and turn off the fire.

Step 6

Let your borscht rest for 15 minutes and serve it with sour cream, fresh rye bread, and some cold salo.

Variations

Borscht is probably the most versatile dish of Ukrainian cuisine. Every single family has their unique recipe. So feel free to use your cooking intuition and get creative.

Borsch is all about the combination of flavors (And, of course, the color. It is supposed to be red, you know :) ) - a bit of sourness and a bit of sweetness makes it so good. You can add the ingredients of your choice as long as you keep this balance.

Want to add some sourness - try lemons, replace part of fresh cabbage with sauerkraut. You can even try to add some greenish strawberries or pre-baked quince. Your beets are not quite sweet - add some bell pepper, fresh or baked for a denser flavor. Or try some dry fruits: plums, apples or pears.