Make Borscht, Not War

When you think of borscht, what country comes to mind? Russia and Ukraine both call it their national dish. These days Russia and Ukraine are taking lives and breaking hearts, a terrible state of affairs... My family is from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This is reflected in the flavors of my kitchen and in many sleepless nights, worrying about my friends in Ukraine and family in Russia. To honor my dear Ukrainians, I’m offering this version of Grandma Dora’s borscht, from Odessa with love and humor of course.

Fun fact: I eat beets in one dish, and one dish only. I do not like its slightly sweet earthy taste in salads or smoothies, I do not eat beets baked, or with cheese, I eat beets only in borscht. There, beets don’t bother me one bit. It has not always been the case. This kitchen meise is remembered as the “Borscht Disaster of 1984”! My Mom decided to give me puréed borscht as one of my first solid foods. I categorically did not approve. When my father came back from work one day he saw the following: I sat in a high chair with a very offended expression, while my Mom was dancing around me in her underwear, trying to stick at least one spoonful of borscht into my mouth. She was hot, sweaty, and really irritated. And then there was borscht… it was everywhere: on the walls, on the floor, on the table, the ceiling, and my personal favorite — my Mom’s back. Every time she turned around, I would promptly spit the soup on her back. I fought that soup till the very last drop. I don’t remember when or how that changed but I started liking borscht pretty early on. And I love it to this day.

The main characters of the “Borscht Disaster of 1984”

It’s a very easy soup to make, perfect for holidays and weekdays. Make it with meat, that iconic marrow bone, or vegetarian, the way I make it, simply because I rarely have time to start with beef broth from scratch. It’s packed with vegetables and just delicious. For the full experience, serve with a slice of pumpernickel, a dollop of sour cream, and a shot of vodka!

2-in-1: Borsht maker & eater, and the author of this blog

Ukrainian Borsht

The Ingredients

• 2–3 medium beets
• half a medium white cabbage
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 stalk of celery
• a few tablespoons of tomato paste
• half a lemon
• 2–3 garlic cloves, more to serve
• fresh dill
• vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• salt & pepper
• paprika
• pumpernickel bread, sour cream, and vodka (optional) to serve

A whole lot of veg

The Method

• Put a large pot of water to boil. If you want to make this soup meat based, start by making beef broth, and bring it to a boil. Like I said earlier, I only make vegetarian borscht, because it’s easier and faster, everything under an hour. I fill the pot with water halfway because borscht is meant to be thick. If it’s too thick, you can always adjust the water level in the end.
• You may start by peeling the beets, cutting them in half, and adding them to the boiling water. This time I went all out and baked my beets, for a more pronounced flavor and color. If you opt for baking, skip this step!
• OZ hack: the easiest and most mess-free option is to add canned beets. In that case, you add them at the very end.

Rainbow of a soup!

• Wash your vegetables, and peel carrots & potatoes.

• If you are baking the beets, preheat the oven to 380F.
• Wash the beets, chop off both ends, and discard the leaves.
• Fun fact: you can use the leaves in a soup, but it’s a different soup, with a different name, the one I don’t make!
• Beware: beets are very-very juicy and will stain everything: your hands, your sink, and counters. Wear gloves, and protect your kitchen.
• Wrap each beet in foil, put in a baking dish or tray, and stick into the oven for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. Mine baked for thirty, and the largest came out slightly raw in the middle. It made it harder to grate.

• Score tomatoes, and add them to a boiling pot of water. After a minute or so, remove them into an ice bath, this will ensure easy peeling. My Mom says, that the skins should be added to the soup as well for the pretty color, and then fished out, but growing up I hated tomato skins in soups (she never peeled tomatoes), so I toss them right away.

• Cube potatoes, and add them to the boiling pot, in which you just cooked tomatoes.
• I personally don’t like a lot of potatoes in borscht, they mute the flavor, but they are needed to make the soup heartier. I just added one large potato, feel free to adjust according to your liking.

Onions, garlic, peppers, celery, carrots, pepper

• Chop all the vegetables into more or less even pieces. Shred/grate carrots. Of course to save time you can use prechopped veggies or pre-shredded carrots. You can use a food processor, but I like chopping/grating by hand.

• Cut cabbage. I’m not really good at it, and never know what is the right way to chop it. In soup, I prefer thin long strips of cabbage, not squares so, so that they cook evenly, and are easy to put onto the spoon.
• Add cabbage to the pot. Lower the heat to medium-low, for the vegetables to simmer.

• Add a little bit of oil to the large frying pan, heat it to medium, and add all the veggies. If you add too much oil, the soup will be, well, oily, and we don’t want that.
• BTW the veggies are optional. If you really don’t like something, don’t add it. I mean I think carrots & onions are a must here, and while I don’t eat bell peppers IRL, I always add them to borscht, because you can't really taste them. Feel free to experiment.
• Celery wasn’t a common vegetable in the USSR, but I add it to every soup I make, I think it adds the right flavor & depth, especially since this soup is vegetarian.
• Now, if you are really fancy, the proper way is to add vegetables one by one: onions, carrots, celery, peppers, and last — garlic. But ain’t nobody got time for that!

• Process 3/4 of your tomatoes with a few cloves of garlic and a little bit of oil, it will make a really pretty red color. If you haven’t guessed it yet, the deep color is a measurement of successful borscht. Don’t worry, it’ll be tasty regardless, but it also must be pretty!
• Cut remaining tomato into cubes. I like the “meet” a tomato every spoonfull or so.

• Lower the heat, and occasionally stir your vegetables, they should be somewhat cooked.

• At this point, your beets should be done. The best part is that they were cooking while you were preparing the rest of your vegetables, simultaneously!
• If you are boiling them, fish them out of the pot with potatoes & cabbage, if you are baking them, take them out of the oven.
• You can cool them by adding them to an ice bath, or simply impale them on a fork (as per my Mom) for easy peeling. Peel the beets.
• Shred them. If using canned beets, also shred them, and reserve the liquid.

• Add shredded beets to the frying pan with other vegetables.

Shshsh!

• OZ secret: proper Odessa borscht calls for a tablespoon or two of sugar added to the beets, to help the whole thing caramelize, and give borscht the right balance of sweet and sour. It is really a must, really, don’t skip this step.

• Once the beets are warmed through, add all your tomatoes, both cut & blended, and sautée a little.
• At this point add a few spoons of tomato paste, or even ketchup for depth, and tanginess.

• Once your vegetables are sautéed through, add them to the pot with cabbage and potatoes.
• If you are using canned beets, add reserved liquid to the soup as well.
• Mix & bring to boil.

• Squeeze half a lemon into the soup.
• I didn’t have lemon, so I added lemon juice.
• You just need something acidic to brighten the color and balance the sweetness.

• Time to add spices!
• I like paprika, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.
• My Mom adds all the herbs she has: dill, parsley, and cilantro. I don’t like cooked herbs in my soup, I only use fresh dill to garnish.
• We have a saying that the spoon must stand vertically on its own in borsht, that’s another “seal of quality”. However, if it’s too thick for you, now is the time to add some boiling water.
• At this point, all the vegetables in borscht are cooked through, but simmer it for another 10–15 minutes just to combine the flavors.

As perfect as it gets!

• The color of borscht may vary depending on the quality of beets, whether they were baked, boiled, or canned. It will be pretty & tasty, nevertheless, trust me.
• Serve it hot, traditionally garnished with sour cream, & dill. And garlic, LOTS of garlic, as much as you can stomach. I sadly can’t eat raw garlic, so I use all of mine while cooking.
• You may enjoy a shot of vodka, pumpernickel bread, and a bit of salo (fat part of bacon). Or just by itself, the way I prefer it.
• As the saying goes: borscht reaches its full potential the next day, you will feel the difference!