Borscht (Ukrainian Beetroot Soup)

  • Total time - 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Prep - 30 minutes
  • Cooking - 2 hours
  • Servings: 8
  • Country: Ukraine
Deep red, thick Ukrainian Borscht soup with pieces of beetroot and meat, served with sour cream.

The key to Ukrainian borscht is preserving the deep red colour of the beetroot. This is achieved by adding an acid (vinegar or lemon juice) right after sautéing the beets and before adding them to the soup. This technique is called 'zasmážka' or 'sautéing'.

The soup should be thick – the thickness is ensured by a large amount of vegetables and potatoes. The meat cooked in the broth is diced at the end and returned to the soup.

Ingredients

Broth and Meat

  • 500 g beef or pork (with bone for broth)
  • 2.5 l water
  • for broth bay leaf, whole peppercorns

Vegetables (for borscht)

  • 3 pieces beetroot (medium, grated)
  • 4 pieces potatoes (diced)
  • 300 g white cabbage (shredded)
  • 1 piece onion (large, finely chopped)
  • 1 piece carrot (grated)

Seasoning

  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • to taste salt, pepper, sugar

For Serving

  • to taste sour cream
  • chopped fresh dill or parsley

Instructions

Step 1: Preparing the Broth

Boil the meat with bay leaf and peppercorns until tender (about 1.5 hours). Remove the meat, strain the broth, and salt it. Dice the meat and set aside.

Step 2: Sautéing the Beetroot (Pasírovanie)

Heat oil in a large pan or pot. Add the grated beetroot and sauté for 5 minutes. Pour in the vinegar/lemon juice and tomato paste (this stabilizes the beetroot colour). Add a little broth and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Set aside.

Step 3: Preparing the Vegetable Mixture (Zasmažka)

In another pan, sauté the chopped onion in oil until golden. Add the carrot and sauté for 5 minutes. You can add a pinch of sugar to enhance the flavour.

Step 4: Assembling the Borscht

Add the diced potatoes to the strained broth. Cook for 10 minutes.

Add the shredded cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes.

Stir in the sautéed beetroot mixture and the onion and carrot mixture. Add the diced meat.

Step 5: Finishing

Simmer the borscht for about 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Finally, stir in the minced garlic, add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Step 6: Serving

Serve hot. Add a spoonful of sour cream to each portion and sprinkle with fresh dill/parsley.