Olesia’s Borscht – a Russian recipe

Olesia’s Borscht – a Russian recipe

“Borsch reminds me of being reunited with friends and family, because it the first thing my mum cooks when I return to Russia. Now I share it with my family and friends in Bristol too!”

Stage 1 (The stock)

Ingredients:

1 shin of beef with bone still in
3 bay leaves
½ tsp pepper
1 carrot roughly chopped
1 onion peeled
3.5 litres of water
2 tsp salt

Method:

  1. Place the beef, onion, water and salt in a large pan and place on a medium heat.
  2. Keep skimming the scum from the top of the pan.
  3. Just before the stock reaches boiling point, add the rest of the ingredients, turn down the heat and simmer for 3 – 4 hours until the meat is tender and falls off the bone. Remove the bone.

Stage 2 (The soup itself)

Ingredients:
2 medium onions diced
2 medium potatoes (preferably waxy) diced into bite size pieces
2 medium beetroots (julienne cut)
2 medium carrots (julienne cut)
1/4 of a small white cabbage shredded
The juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp of water
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tbsp of tomato puree
A bunch of dill

Method:

  1. Place the beetroot, water and lemon juice (which helps the beetroot to keep its colour) in a pan. Cover and simmer until soft. Leave to one side.
  2. Put the oil, carrot and onion into a frying pan and sweat on a medium heat without colouring. Once soft, add the tomato puree and maybe a little water to loosen it. Cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly. Leave to one side.
  3. Take the beef from the stock and shred it into chunks. Put to one side.
  4. Strain the stock and put it into a clean pan with the potatoes, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and leave to simmer until cooked.
  5. Finally, add the beetroot and the carrot and onion mixture and bring to the boil. Add the finely chopped dill.
  6. Turn off the heat and let the flavours infuse for five minutes before serving.