Hot Borscht Recipes

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the beets in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook uncovered until the beets are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the beets to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and also set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid, the chicken stock, sour cream, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper. Peel the cooled beets with a small paring knife or rub the skins off with your hands. Cut the beets in small to medium dice. Add the beets, cucumber, scallions, and dill to the soup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Season, to taste, and serve cold with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprig of fresh dill.

BORSCHT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets on a piece of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold foil and parchment up to enclose beets. Place on a small baking sheet and bake until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1 hour. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel and coarsely grate; set aside.
• Soak the mushrooms in the water for 30 minutes. Drain through a fine mesh sieve; reserving liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.
• In a medium stockpot, combine the stock, beets, mushrooms, mushroom liquid, celery leaves, parsley, garlic, sugar, a large pinch of salt, and a large pinch of pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
• Add enough lemon juice or citric acid until you've reached your desired flavor. Cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate until cooled, up to overnight. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with dill.

BORSCHT II

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, brown beef in oil. Stir in onion and water, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 2 hours, until meat is tender.
• Remove meat from broth and set aside to cool slightly. Stir carrots, celery, cabbage, beets, tomato juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper into broth. When meat is cool enough to handle, cut meat from bone and into bite-size pieces and return to soup. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

HOT BORSCHT

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine beef, marrow bones, water and salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered 1 1/2 hours. Skim off any foam that forms.
• Strain beets, reserving liquid and set aside. Combine beet juice, tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Add to beef broth. Also add cabbage, carrots, onions, parsley, bay leaves and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 to 30 minutes.
• Stir in beets, and remaining Worcestershire sauce. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of dill.

HOT BORSCHT FROM THE RUSSIAN TEA ROOM

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a large pot with sufficient water to cover them. Add a pinch of salt, and cook on low heat for 4 hours. Skim off fat from the top and discard. Remove approximately 1 cup of meat to use later as garnish for top of dish.
• Place beets in enough water to cover them and slowly simmer for 40 minutes, (do not boil.) Add remaining beet broth ingredients. Simmer on lowest heat for 3 to 4 hours. Peel beets. Strain the broth from the beets and keep them separately.
• Fry the bacon in a large pot in 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil until crispy. Discard bacon; only the fat is needed. To the bacon fat, add 2 tablespoons butter and the onion, carrot, cabbage and garlic. Cook on medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft. Add tarragon and dill. Add equal parts of meat bouillon and beet broth. Add cooked beets. Simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with shredded meat, sour cream and dill.

RUSSIAN BORSCHT SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the beets, carrots, onion and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. , Add tomatoes and cabbage; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Stir in salt, dill and pepper. Top each serving with sour cream if desired.

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Add beets, and boil until beets are fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Drain beets, reserving cooking water, and let stand until cool enough to handle. Rub off skins.
• Heat olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Coarsely chop 1 1/2 carrots, and add to stockpot. Add leek, salt, and pepper. Coarsely chop half of the dill, and add to stockpot. Cook until carrots are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
• Cut beets into 1-inch chunks, and add to stockpot. Add wine, 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid, and chicken stock. Let simmer until broth is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the stockpot from heat, and transfer hot soup to a large bowl. Set bowl in ice-water bath to cool; skim off any fat.
• Using the small hole of a box grater, grate remaining 1/2 carrot and cucumber. Serve soup with a dollop of creme fraiche, garnished with grated carrot, grated cucumber, and remaining fresh dill. Give each serving a splash of red-wine vinegar, if desired.

AUTHENTIC RUSSIAN/UKRAINIAN BORSCHT

Steps:

• To a large pot (I use 8qts), add the meat and enough water to fill up the pot to halfway.
• Remove all froth that comes up from the meat.
• Continue to boil on med-high until no more froth comes up.
• Reduce heat to low and add consomme mix, whole onion, dill, beats, cabbage, and tomato sauce.
• Fill with water, cover partially with lid, and let cook for 90min.
• After that hour and a half of cooking, make sure meat is soft - then add the carrots, and squeeze all the juice you can possible juice from the lemons into the soup.
• You can add the rice and/or potatoes at this point, if you like.
• Cook, partially covered, for another 30-45 minutes, until making sure the potatoes and carrots are tender, and the rice (if you put any in) is ready.
• The soup is great on day 1, but tastes much better on days 2-3.
• Enjoy the soup while it's very hot.

BEET BORSCHT

Steps:

• In a saucepan, bring the beets, carrots, onion, water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add broth, cabbage and butter; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice. If desired, top each serving with sour cream and chives or dill.

HOT BEEF BORSCHT WITH SOUR CREAM

Steps:

• FOR STOCK:
• Heat vegetable oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of beef ribs and sauté until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining ribs; transfer to plate. Add sliced onion to pot. Sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Return ribs and any juices to pot. Add 3 1/2 quarts water and remaining stock ingredients. Bring to boil, skimming any foam from surface. Reduce heat and simmer until ribs are very tender, skimming foam occasionally, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Using tongs, transfer ribs to plate. Strain stock into large bowl. Chill stock until fat solidifies on top, at least 3 hours. Remove meat from bones; cut away excess fat. Shred meat finely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover meat and chill. Keep stock chilled.)
• FOR BORSCHT:
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange beets in single layer in 13x9x2-inch baking dish; add 1 cup water. Cover; bake beets until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Cool beets. Peel and cut into 1/3-inch dice.
• Remove fat from surface of stock. Add enough canned beef broth to stock to measure 10 cups.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add diced carrots and chopped onions and sauté 10 minutes. Add cabbage and garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Add 10 cups beef stock, beets, potato and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Simmer until cabbage and potato are tender, about 20 minutes. Add shredded meat; simmer 5 minutes. Season with additional red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
• Ladle borscht into bowls. Top each with dollop of sour cream and serve.

VESELKA'S FAMOUS BORSCHT

Steps:

• To make the "beet water," roughly chop 2 pounds of the beets (select the smaller ones), preferably in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Place the chopped beets in a large stockpot. Add 10 cups of water and 1 tablespoon vinegar.
• Place the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. (If it seems like the liquid is evaporating too quickly, you may need to cover the pot partially with an offset lid.) The beets should be extremely soft and the liquid bright red.
• Strain the liquid, pressing the cooked beets against the side of the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp or reserve. Set aside the beet water. You should have just about 4 cups.
• Meanwhile, place the remaining 1 pound of whole beets in a separate large stockpot. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beets are tender-firm, about 40 minutes. When the beets are cooked, add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and set them aside to cool.
• When the whole cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them; the skins should slip off easily. Grate the peeled beets on the largest holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the grating blade.
• To make the broth, place the pork butt in a large stockpot and add the beef stock. If necessary, add a little more stock or water to cover. Add the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the meat is tender and beginning to fall apart, about 2 hours. Set the pork aside to cool. When the pork is cool enough to handle, remove it from the pot and cut the meat into ½-inch cubes. Strain the broth and discard the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Reserve the cubed meat and 4 cups of the broth.
• To cook the vegetables, place the carrots and celery in a large stockpot and pour the reserved meat broth over them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the carrots and celery are just tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage and potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes and carrots are easily pierced with a pairing knife but keep their shape, 15 to 20 additional minutes. Add the lima beans and cook for 5 additional minutes, just to meld the flavors. Gradually add the remaining 7 tablespoons white vinegar, tasting between additions and stopping when the flavor is to your liking. Remove the soup from the heat and set aside.
• To compose the soup, in a large soup pot combine the "beet water" and meat broth with the vegetables. Add the cubed pork and the grated beets. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over low heat. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately.