Borshch
Beetroot soup built on a long-simmered broth, with the beets cooked separately in a little vinegar so the colour stays deep red instead of turning brown. Served with sour cream, rye bread and garlic.
Ingredients
- beef short rib or brisket — 600 g
- water — 3 l
- beetroot — 500 g
- white cabbage, shredded — 400 g
- potatoes — 400 g
- carrot — 1 pc
- onion — 1 pc
- tomato paste — 2 tbsp
- vinegar — 1 tbsp
- garlic cloves — 3 pcs
- dill, chopped — 3 tbsp
- sour cream, to serve — 200 g
Instructions
- Simmer the beef in the water for about 90 minutes, skimming the foam, until it pulls apart easily. Lift it out, shred it and keep the broth.
- Grate the beetroot coarsely and cook it in a covered pan with the vinegar, the tomato paste and a ladle of broth for 20 minutes — the acid is what fixes the colour.
- Add the cubed potatoes to the broth and cook 10 minutes, then the cabbage for another 10.
- Meanwhile soften the grated carrot and chopped onion in a little fat until sweet, and add them to the pot.
- Stir the beetroot in only at the end and bring back to just below a simmer; boiling it hard now dulls the colour.
- Crush in the garlic off the heat, add the dill and the shredded beef, season, and rest 10 minutes before serving with sour cream.