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August 6, 2005
Borscht
One of the joys of having your own site is you can check what search strings bring people here. More than once, someone's come here looking for the recipe for borscht from Veselka, the Ukrainian restaurant on Ninth Street. I've had their borscht; it's really good.
This is not exactly their recipe. Veselka's version, as I recall it, may have more beef and no greens, but I highly recommend adding the greens and stems for both taste and nutrition.
My recipe which has evolved from several different sources, including altering my recipe to taste more like Veselka's with cubed beef and more white vinegar. That, a good homemade beef stock and baking the beets before putting them in the soup, are what makes this recipe. Do try it. As with many soups, its open to variation. Add more or less of an ingredient, or new ones like mushrooms, turnips or parsnips. A different sort of Ukrainian borscht has white beans, pork and sausage in it. This soup could easily be made vegetarian - I don't think it would need a vegetable stock. I'd probably substitute water with soy sauce and miso dissolved into it as a fast stock substitute.
Borscht (recipe follows in an extended entry)
1 bunch of beets with leaves (where I shop a bunch of beets is usually 3 medium to large beets. If the beets are small you may want two bunches.)
1 tsp oil
1 tsp butter
1/3-1/2 lb (or more if you like a meatier soup) stewing beef in ½ inch cubes
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery and some celery leaves, coarsely chopped
1 quart beef stock (I use homemade)
1 cup canned tomato and liquid, coarsely chopped
½ small head cabbage.
Seasonings to taste –
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 tsp salt
several grinds black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp Tabasco
Remove the stalks and greens from the beetroots. Trim the taproot from the bottom of the bulb if needed and wash. Wrap each beet in foil and bake in a 350 oven as you might a potato until cooked through – about 1 hour. Let cool. It's fine to bake the beets beforehand. Just leave them in their foil in the refrigerator until needed. Slip the skins off. If they are stubborn use a vegetable peeler. Chop the beats coarsely.
Take the beet stalks and greens and clean carefully to remove grit and dirt. I soak them in a large pot of water and change the water a few times. Cut the stems and stalks into large pieces (I cut about an inch wide)
In a soup pot, melt the butter with the oil. Over moderate heat sear the beef and then add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery and beets – let the first four sauté a bit and get translucent before adding the beets.
Shred the cabbage in 3/8 inch shreds (I quarter the head, and cut out the core, slicing that thinly separately)
Add the stock, 2 cups additional water, tomato, cabbage and beet greens. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer covered until all vegetables are tender (45 minutes to an hour)
Season to taste – my amounts are only guidelines but the soup should have a sour tang.
Serve with a spoonful of sour cream and snipped fresh dill if you like, or a sliced boiled potato for a heartier soup. But it tastes great as is.
This makes about 10 cups of soup.
Posted by Leigh Witchel at August 6, 2005 2:27 PM
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Comments
Ick, borscht. I prefer the water that you drain from the can of tuna.
Posted by: Javi at August 9, 2005 12:17 AM
A good liquid for vegetarian borscht is the liquid from canned beets. I make borscht by refrigerating canned beets, liquifying in the blender--the beets and the liquid, adding lemon juice, and then a little sour cream, it can be non-fat if you must. Serve cold with some diced cucumber for garnish, or thin lemon slices.I love the chicken soup at Veselka. Tell us how to make that.
Posted by: Nanatchka at August 9, 2005 11:25 PM
I'm a pretty good chicken soup maker, but I don't think I have ever had Veselka's chicken soup, so I'm not sure how mine compares to it. Great, that gives us a field trip to go on, for research purposes!
Posted by: Leigh Witchel at August 11, 2005 2:15 AM
Okay, what I really want to know is, what's your beef stock recipe?
I'm convinced it's not possible, even with classical French recipes, to make a good beef stock without using lots and lots of actual beef (not just bones).
Posted by: Grace at August 13, 2005 11:24 PM
I make a pretty basic beef stock and it doesn't have much beef in it. I save bones and trimmings in the freezer until I have enough (about 3 lbs) and then put them in a shallow baking pan, spray with cooking spray and roast them in the oven until they brown.
The bones go in the pot with vegetable peelings (another bag in the freezer holds those until it's stock making time) and peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaf, thyme and cloves. Simmer for several hours and strain.
It probably isn't fine enough for an aspic but it's quite good for a soup or sauce enrichment. Chicken stock is about the same, except I do use meat (and remove it after about two hours for other dishes) and omit the roasting.
Posted by: Leigh Witchel at August 14, 2005 1:09 AM