Classic Borscht: A Step-by-step Recipe With A Photo, Options For Ukrainian, Red, Lean Dishes

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

How to make the perfect borscht and get married

In the old days, the ability to cook delicious and rich borscht was an important indicator of a woman's ability to be a good housewife. Times have changed, but in the modern world, no man will refuse a plate of thick, bright and aromatic soup with a good piece of meat. The perfect borscht, cooked according to a proven recipe, can be the reason for a marriage proposal, because it still paves the shortest path to a man's heart.

Content

• 1 The classic borscht recipe
• 2 Ukrainian red borsch
• 3 Video: borsch with chicken and leek
• 4 Lean borsch with sauerkraut and mushrooms

Classic borscht recipe

The traditional recipe includes beef. This borscht serves both the first and the second course, since an impressive piece of boiled meat is attached to the rich broth with vegetables and spices.

Chunks of beef on the bone give a special richness to the broth

Products:

• 700 g of beef;
• half a small cabbage fork;
• 3 potatoes;
• small beets;
• 1 carrot and 1 onion for frying and the same amount for broth;
• 50 g tomato paste;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 1 bell pepper;
• 50 g of greens;
• 50 ml of oil (sunflower);
• salt, pepper and lavrushka to taste;
• 20 g sugar.

Instructions:

1. Pour cold water over a piece of beef. Add peeled onion and carrots, chopped into washers.

   

   Vegetables in broth are needed to enhance flavor.

2. Cook the broth for about 2.5 hours. Remove foam with a slotted spoon. Then remove the meat and cut into large pieces.

   

   Be sure to remove the foam, otherwise the broth will get an unpleasant odor

3. Chop the cabbage.

   

   Fresh white cabbage should be cut into thin strips

4. Cut the peeled potatoes. Add it to the boiling broth and boil for 15 minutes, then add the cabbage.

   

   Potato cubes should be medium

5. Chop the onion.

   

   Cut onions with a sharp knife

6. Grate carrots.

   

   Choose fresh, not flabby carrots

7. Chop the beets.

   

   Cut the beets into strips

8. Grind the bell peppers and herbs.

   

   Bell peppers and greens make up a wonderful aromatic and flavoring bouquet in borscht

9. Chop the garlic.

   

   Fresh aromatic garlic is the best seasoning for borscht

10. Squeeze out the lemon juice.

    

    Lemon juice is a great vinegar substitute

11. Fry the beets in oil (2 tablespoons), add tomato paste, sugar and lemon juice. Add to broth with vegetables.

    

    Sugar in sautéed beets allows you to adjust the acidic balance

12. Fry the onions and carrots in oil (2 tablespoons). Add borscht to the saucepan immediately afterwards.

    

    Stir the vegetables with a spatula during frying.

13. Add garlic, bell peppers, herbs and seasonings.

    

    Be sure to cover the pan with a lid and cook the borscht over low heat for another 10 minutes

14. Serve borscht hot with sour cream and herbs.

    

    Put a piece of beef in each plate and cover with broth with vegetables

Ukrainian red borsch

The peculiarity of Ukrainian red borscht is the use of a large amount of fresh tomatoes instead of tomato paste, and pork instead of beef. And, of course, the main element is lard, mashed with garlic.

Choose fresh lard with no musty odor

Products:

• 0.5 kg of ham;
• 250 g potatoes;
• half a small cabbage fork;
• 250 g beets;
• 100 g carrots;
• 100 g of onions;
• 4 tomatoes;
• garlic to taste;
• 150 g lard;
• 50 ml oil for frying;
• salt, pepper, sugar, lavrushka to taste;
• 20 g of parsley and dill.

Recipe:

1. Pour pork with water and cook for 45-50 minutes.

   

   Be sure to wash the meat well before preparing the broth.

2. You should get a transparent and moderately fatty broth. The meat must be removed from it and cooled.

   

   If the pork broth turns out to be too fat, then remove the excess with a slotted spoon

3. Cut the potatoes and put them in the pork broth boiling over low heat.

   

   Cut the potatoes into strips

4. Chop the cabbage. 10 minutes after the potatoes, add them to the pot.

   

   Thin slicing of cabbage will give the borsch a delicious look

5. Prepare onions and carrots for frying.

   

   It is better to choose juicy vegetables, so the borsch will be tastier

6. Fry until golden brown (2 tablespoons oil). Add to broth.

   

   Frying gives the borsch an incredible flavor

7. Grate fresh beets.

   

   Fresh and bright burgundy beets will give Ukrainian borsch the desired color

8. Fry it in a frying pan preheated with oil (2 tablespoons).

   

   Beets burn easily, so stir while browning

9. Skin the tomatoes. To do this, make cross-shaped cuts on them, and then pour boiling water over them for 3-4 minutes. After that, the skin is easily removed.

   

   Choose strong and ripe tomatoes

10. Cut them into cubes. Add to the beets and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add to the broth with vegetables.

    

    Cut the tomatoes into large cubes so they can be seen in the borscht

11. Chop the boiled pork and return to the borscht. Season it with spices.

    

    Pork is best cut with a sharp knife

12. Chop the bacon.

    

    The finer the lard is cut, the easier it will be to grind it in a mortar

13. Chop the dill.

    

    Fresh dill is essential for serving

14. Crush lard with garlic and parsley. Add to the borscht, cover with a lid and simmer for another 10 minutes on the lowest heat.

    

    Lard and garlic dressing is an essential element of the Ukrainian borscht recipe

15. Let it brew for half an hour, and then pour into plates.

    

    Ukrainian red borscht served with herbs and sour cream

Video: borsch with chicken and leeks

Lean borsch with sauerkraut and mushrooms

This dish is ideal for a lean table. Moreover, the taste of this borscht is no worse than that of meat. Sauerkraut gives it an original flavor, while beans and mushrooms provide protein. The most delicious borscht is obtained with large red beans.

Heat-treated red beans perfectly hold their shape, allowing the dish to look appetizing on the plate

Products:

• 100 g dry mushrooms;
• 250 g sauerkraut;
• 150 g beans;
• 1 beet;
• 1 onion;
• 1 carrot;
• 2 potatoes;
• 1 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
• 0.5 tbsp. l. flour;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 50 g parsley;
• 70 ml of vegetable oil.

Recipe:

1. Soak dry mushrooms in water for 2-3 hours.

   

   The most suitable mushrooms are porcini

2. Soak red beans and leave for 3 hours.

   

   Beans can be soaked overnight.

3. Cut the mushrooms into strips and sauté in hot oil.

   

   When roasted, mushrooms enhance their flavor

4. Put mushrooms and beans in boiling water and cook for half an hour.

   

   Before adding the ingredients for borscht, the water should boil with a key

5. Chop the potatoes. Add to beans and mushrooms and simmer for 15 minutes.

   

   Always add potatoes to the water for the first course before introducing the sauerkraut.

6. Chop the onions and carrots.

   

   Onions and carrots can be prepared for borscht in advance

7. Fry, and then stew, adding 2-3 tablespoons of water, sauerkraut with onions and carrots. Introduce into a saucepan.

   

   Stir the vegetables with a spatula throughout the roasting.

8. Cut the beets into very thin strips.

   

   You will need a sharp knife to cut beets

9. Fry it with tomato paste and flour. Add to the rest of the ingredients.

   

   Tomato for sautéing beets is necessary to give the borsch a rich color, and flour creates the right texture

10. Chop the parsley.

    

    Parsley is needed to serve borscht on the table

11. Serve lean borscht, sprinkle with herbs.

    

    Lean borscht with sauerkraut has a wonderful rich taste and aroma

In our family, borscht is the basis of home cooking. Without him, neither husband nor children can imagine their existence. Of all soups, we cook borscht most often, especially in winter in cold weather. Hot, with a rich aroma and bright red color of the broth - borscht cannot replace any other dish. Even if I didn’t know how to cook it, then, having got married, I would have to urgently learn this culinary wisdom. In fact, there is nothing complicated about this, it is enough to remember the order of laying vegetables in the broth and a few tricks. The main secret is to cook borsch with love. Well, garlic, of course, does not hurt.

Even if at first borscht recipes scare you with an abundance of ingredients, don't worry! With strict adherence to the cooking technology, mastering this dish is not difficult at all. Try different varieties of borscht to find the perfect one for you and your family.