Cooking Resources

CharlieD · 11-14-2017, 08:06 PM

Borscht! Borscht! Borscht!
Yes again Borscht. Apparently it is subject that just doesn't go away judging by the amount of replies to the thread below "the good recipe" one.
Ukrainian food are near and dear to me, I would like nothing else but people understand and enjoy Ukrainian food. Borscht being one of the most popular and most recognised when people speak about Ukrainian food. There are a whole bunch of recipes in our files and there is endless amount elsewhere. What I want people to understand is how easy it is to make borscht. That is why I want to show you here the whole process in pictures. The whole process took me about 2 hours and it is only because I was cooking chinese dinner per my daughter's request, so borscht was kind of in between, again a show of the fact how easy it is.
Ok, here it goes.
1. Meat. people ask what kind of meat to use. The answer I will give: Any, any meat. Just make sure that you have a very good meat broth. Here I was making Mongolian beef for which I bought 2 ribeye steaks. I cut out the eye and the bone and some meat leftovers thru n a 6 quart pot. About half a o of water.
2. I am a busy person, I work 50-60 hours per week, everything I make has to be made fast, but it doesn't mean it should be tassles. Thus the ingredients are all ready to go into the pot. Or almost ready.
3. Most recipes that came down to us from our grandmothers talk about sauteeing the onion, the carrots, the beets, the tomatoes. Let's think for minute why. Why, you ask? I tell you why. The life of a simple people 100 years ago was so poor, they could have never imagine the riches we have now. Just look at meat department of any store. We are talking about cooking here so the reference is about cooking ingredient ;) .
They had no meat. The hog was slaughtered once, maybe twice a year, Soup was made from vegetables and to add flavor everything was sauteed in pork fat, Salo. We have to take this into consideration. We put so much meat into soup that if a poor villager from late 1800's or early 1900's saw that he/she would consider us some sort of Millionaires. We do not need to Sauté anything. Having said that. 2 bones were not enough to make good soup, thus I sauteed some onions, onions only.
4. How you cut your vegetables is absolutely up to your imagination. This is how I like to cut my potatoes. Don't let anybody tell that what you are doing is wrong.
5. After about an hour or so meat was done, in went potato and beans. I like the beans very soft. When potato was almost ready, I add carrots and cabbage.
Taking a step back. Previously I have said that I never add vinegar or sugar. I lied, I do, in the form of tomato ketchup.
6. Couple of tablespoons of ketchup or tomato paste do the trick of substituting sugar, vinegar and tomatoes. Look at the color of the soup after ketchup added.
7. I add herbs, dill and parsley, and pepper relish ( I think I have posted recipe in the files, I can add at the end) bring to a boil, stir, taste, at this point check and re-season, add salt, pepper, maybe more ketchup, whatever you think the borscht needs.
8. I use canned beets as you can see, I grate them and add at the very end. They are cooked, they do need to be cooked any more, but they will your borscht the beautiful Borscht, so to speak color. Bring to a boil, turn it off.
9. Put the spoon in, make it sure it stands on it's own, just joking.
10. You are done, serve and enjoy.
This is as simple as it gets. Honestly.

CharlieD · 11-14-2017, 08:09 PM

why can't I post pictures?

CharlieD · 11-14-2017, 08:18 PM

Ok, I think it worked this time.

**PrincessFiona60** · 11-15-2017, 08:27 PM

Sounds wonderful, Charlie. Thanks for sharing.

taxlady · 11-17-2017, 12:42 AM

I have never tried borscht, but this sounds good. What sorts of proportions of the vegis do I use, in particular what portion should be beets? I don't really know what colour it should be. Are the vegis in chunks in the soup? Do I really need to put beans?

Steve Kroll · 11-17-2017, 12:50 AM

Thanks Charlie. I love Borscht.

CharlieD · 11-17-2017, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taxlady

I have never tried borscht, but this sounds good. What sorts of proportions of the vegis do I use, in particular what portion should be beets? I don't really know what colour it should be. Are the vegis in chunks in the soup? Do I really need to put beans?

Just look at the pictures. And fallow the recipe. No you don’t have to put beets.

larry_stewart · 11-18-2017, 01:11 AM

When using the canned beets, do add the beet liquid to the soup too? or do you drain the liquid and only add the beets ( grated) themselves ?

buckytom · 11-18-2017, 01:25 AM

I have a weird experience with Borscht. Not the red kind, though.

I first met my wife's parents many years ago at an Easter dinner at their house. Her mother had prepared her version of white Borscht; their Slovakian/Polish ancestral family recipe.

I sat down at the table and my wife's mom ladled a bowl of what looked like a thin soup that resembled dishwater

. As I was about to try it, her father sprang up, tore up some chunks of bread, then sliced a hard boiled egg and unceremoniously tossed them into my soup. "Now", he said, "that is white Borscht. And if you must, you can add beets, but we don't do that."

I'm not sure if it was the soup that was so good, or the bizarre but fun experience of having your future in-laws serve you something in such a weird way, but I love Borscht to this day. All kinds, from white to red.

CharlieD · 11-19-2017, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry_stewart

When using the canned beets, do add the beet liquid to the soup too? or do you drain the liquid and only add the beets ( grated) themselves ?

I use the liquid too. Helps with color.

CharlieD · 11-19-2017, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buckytom

...I love Borscht to this day. All kinds, from white to red.

That it is funny

CharlieD · 11-21-2017, 02:59 PM

BTW, Larry, substitute dry mushrooms for meat and you have a nice vegetarian meal.

larry_stewart · 11-22-2017, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharlieD

BTW, Larry, substitute dry mushrooms for meat and you have a nice vegetarian meal.

Cooked up a pot the other day. Ate the whole pot in one day ( mostly by myself, my wife had one bowl).

You're thread came at the right time. Had some left over shredded cabbage and didn't know what to do with it, then I saw the thread.

Im used to the cold borscht recipe my dad made, which was extremely simple ( beets, onions, salt , lemon juice, serve cold with a boiled potato and sour cream).

I never had your version, but I must say I really enjoyed it. Only change I made was a vegetable stock instead of boiling the meat. I also like my beets in chunks, so I grated one beet and cut the other in chunks ( I used fresh beets) . My wife is not a soup person and even she liked it.

Thanks for the recipe and play by play instructions.

CharlieD · 11-22-2017, 07:31 AM

You are very welcome. I️ too make cold borscht, but only in the summer. Vegetable stock is understandable, that’s why I️ mentioned dried mushrooms. They add incredible flavor.