Ukrainian Borscht

@dhouston (417)
United States
January 18, 2007 6:36pm CST
Russia and Ukraine (please, not "the" Ukraine!) both consider borscht to be their national soup, but their recipes are very didfferent. Russian borscnt is much lighter, mostly beets garnished with sour cream, while Ukrainian borscht is thick with cabbage and other vegetables, and ideally contains beef ribs. Ukrainians, too, love to top it with their wonderful sour cream (smetana). One of the things I learned while in Ukraine last year was that for every two cooks, there are at least thre recipes for borscht. This one is based on the way Varvara, the woman with whom I stayed in Sumy, in the northeastern corner, makes it. It warms you right down to the soul even when the snow is piling up outside. 500g/18 oz. beef short ribs 1/2 head red or green cabbage, thinly sliced 4 beetroots, peeled and cut into matchsticks (reserve greens for another use) 1 large onion, quartered and sliced 2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks 3 potatoes, diced 2 litres/2 quarts water 1 bay leaf Handful fresh dill, chopped Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Salt and pepper to taste Additional chopped fresh dill Combine ingredients in a large soup pot and simmer all morning. Add water as needed; there should be plenty of broth. Add parsley during last 3 minutes of cooking time. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Remove from heat and stir in additional chopped fresh dill. Serve for lunch. Put a large bowl of sour cream on the table for diners to stir into borscht at will. Most Ukrainians use it generously! Accompany with thickly sliced whole rye (black) bread. Enjoy some apple cake and tea with jam stirred into it afterwards.
1 person likes this
5 responses
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
21 Jan 07
This is an interesting recipe. I have never had anything like this before. I have alot of Dutch in my family history. Do you know anything about the way they cook? I only ask because you seem to know alot about other countries.
1 person likes this
@dhouston (417)
• United States
21 Jan 07
I've visited HOlland, but know very little about Dutch cooking.
1 person likes this
@asfi123 (951)
• India
19 Jan 07
thanx for the recipe here is one of my recipe hope you like it Ukrainian Borscht This borscht is very healthy. Preparation and cooking time is quite long, however, you will not be disappointed. You will note that I cook most of the vegetables separately as each vegetable takes different times to cook, therefore, you do not have mushy soup. This is my Mothers recipe, however, I have improved on it and my Mother likes my recipe better. It is of Ukrainian origin 1 cup pinto beans 6 cups water 4 large beets, peeled and grated (about 4 cups) 6 cups water 4 large carrots, peeled and grated 3 cups water 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3 cups) 2 cups water 2 large celery ribs, chopped small 2 medium onions, chopped small 1 large green pepper, seeded and diced 1 large sweet red pepper, seeded and diced 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 tablespoons chicken soup base or 3 chicken bouillon cubes 4 cups water 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth 1/2 cup instant potato flakes (Idaho) 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons soy sauce 4 teaspoons dried dill weed (or more if desired) 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 tablespoons white vinegar In a medium size saucepan, add pinto beans and 6 cups water, bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until beans start to split. Make sure beans are covered with water at all times during simmering; add additional water if required. Save water along with beans to add to borscht later. Peel and grate beets. In a large cooking pot, add grated beets and 6 cups of water. Boil beets until just tender, DO NOT OVERCOOK. Peel and grate carrots. In a separate medium size saucepan, add grated carrots and 3 cups of water, cook until just tender. Add cooked carrots and liquid to the pot with beets. In another separate medium size saucepan, add diced potatoes and 2 cups of water and cook until tender. Mash potatoes in the water and add to the cooking pot with beets. In a separate large saucepan, add chopped celery, chopped onions, diced green and red peppers, chopped garlic, 4 cups of water, chicken soup base and simmer covered until vegetables are tender. When tender, add to the large cooking pot along with the liquid. Add vegetable broth to cooking pot, stir well and bring to boil. Add instant potato flakes, black pepper, soy sauce, dried dill weed, sugar, vinegar and cook for 5 minutes. If borscht appears too thick, add additional water or chicken broth (one cup at a time) and cook for 2 minutes longer. Adjust seasonings to taste. If soup tastes too sweet, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and stir well. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if desired. Refrigerate any unused portion.
1 person likes this
@dhouston (417)
• United States
19 Jan 07
Thank you! This sounds very good, too.
1 person likes this
• United States
21 Jan 07
I have never tried this and didn't even know that it existed. It sounds yummy and thank you for sharing. You could be like Julia Childs with your cooking techniques and recipes ;-)
@dhouston (417)
• United States
22 Jan 07
Wow! What a compliment! She is one of the all-time greats! Thank you.
• Canada
19 Jan 07
Oh YUMMMY!! My grandfather was Hungarian and he used to make Borscht as well...(and here I thought it was a hungarian dish first!) and yes I remember it being primarily beet soup.
• Ukraine
19 Jan 07
I love Ukrainian Borscht