Borsch

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Borsch is the national soup of Ukraine.  Filled with beets and other vegetables from a typical Ukrainian garden, it is a hearty soup  which showcases the love Ukrainians have for their cooking and their land.  It is said that there are 500 different versions of Borsch.  Our version will help keep you warm on cold nights, and it tastes just as great when chilled.

Ingredients

1 3/4 lbs. soup meat with bone (or equivalent beef marrow bone)
10-12 cups of cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1 large chopped onion
6 small beets, cut into thin strips, along with their leaves and stems
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped string beans
3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, diced or crushed
1 tablespoon flour
lemon juice
salt and pepper for taste
fresh chopped dill
3/4 cup sour cream
2 or 3 bay leaves

1). Place the meat in a large cooking pot filled with the cold water.  Add the salt and bring it slowly to a boil.  Skim off any fat on the surface.  Cover and let simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

2). Add the bay leaves, onions, and beets and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the beets are almost done.  If you are using young beets, cook them with the other vegetables.  Chop up the leaves and stems of the beets and put them in.

3). Add the carrots, potatoes, celery and string beans and continue cooking another 10 minutes.  Add the cabbage, cooking it until it is tender.

4). Stir in the tomatoes and garlic.  Blend the flour with about 3 tablespoons of cold water.  Add some soup liquid, and then add it into the soup. Add in some lemon juice to suit your taste, being careful not to add too much.  Good Borsch is tart, but not sour.

5). Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  Flavor it with the chopped dill.

When you are ready to serve, add some thick sour cream to each bowl full.  If you reheat the Borsch the next day, don't add any sour cream.  It tastes better when you add the sour cream just before serving.

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Updated May 20, 2007 - LS

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