Ukrainian borsch,

Ukrainian borsch with beef and bacon is not just a hearty and thick soup with beets, as some people think. The taste of the dish should be multifaceted and, oddly enough, fresh.

Ukrainian borscht with beef and lard

The latter is achieved by a special technique that we use in this recipe. First, as is customary, beef broth is boiled, then vegetables are fried in lard for dressing. But in parallel with these classic steps, we do another non-standard one, namely, we bake beets in the oven. What for? In order to grate it later and put it in borscht at the last stage. And we will also add a maroon decoction of peel cut from raw beets. As a result, borsch will acquire both a bright color and a completely unique taste that will not allow you to limit yourself to just one bowl of soup.

ingredients

beef brisket - 400 g

bay leaf - 2-3 pcs.

large beets - 2 pcs.

salted or smoked lard - 200 g

medium-sized carrots - 2 pcs.

medium sized potatoes - 2 pcs.

onions - 2-3 pcs.

white cabbage - 600 g

sugar - 1/2 tsp

apple cider vinegar - 1.5 tbsp. l.

white cabbage - 300 g

medium-sized tomatoes - 4 pcs.

apple cider vinegar - 2 tbsp. l.

tomato paste - 2 tbsp. l.

garlic - 4-5 cloves

parsley - 3 sprigs

salt, freshly ground black pepper - to taste

step-by-step cooking recipe

Step 1

Prepare borscht broth. Wash the beef and place in a large pot. Fill with cold water almost to the top and leave for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Step 2

Place a pot of beef in water over high heat. Bring to a boil and remove the foam with a slotted spoon. Reduce heat, add 1 tsp. salt and bay leaf. Boil 1.5 hours.

Step 3

While the meat is cooking, wrap one beetroot in a double layer of foil and bake for 1 hour at 180°C. Cut borscht lard into small cubes. Wash and peel carrots, potatoes and remaining beets. Save the beet skin.

Step 4

Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. Cut carrots into very thin strips or grate on a coarse grater. Grate raw beets. Cut potatoes into medium cubes. Shred the cabbage finely.

Step 5

Remove beef from broth. Remove the meat from the bone and cut it into small pieces. Strain the broth through cheesecloth into a clean large saucepan. Pour about 170 ml of broth into a mug and leave until used. Put the beef into the pot with the broth.

Step 6

Prepare the borscht dressing. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Put half of the fat and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until golden, 10 minutes. Put the grated carrots and fry for 5 minutes.

Step 7

In a large saucepan over low heat, also fry the remaining lard. Add raw beets, sugar and 1 tbsp. l. vinegar. Cook, stirring, for about 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Step 8

Put potatoes, cabbage into the broth with beef and cook for 10 minutes. Add fried carrots with onions and stewed beets. Cook over low heat covered for 5 minutes.

Step 9

Pour over the baked beets with cold water, peel, grate the pulp on a medium grater. Pour the remaining raw beetroot peel with the remaining broth. Pour in the vinegar and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute and strain.

Step 10

Chop the garlic and parsley together as finely as possible. Add baked beets, a decoction of beetroot peel and greens with garlic to the pan with ready-made borscht. Salt and pepper. Close the pan and leave it on the hot switched off stove. After 10 minutes, pour into bowls.