How to cook borscht: step-by-step recipe from Shefmarket

Borscht is a famous Slavic beetroot soup cooked in meat broth. Borscht is such a popular dish that it is not only prepared in absolutely every family and regularly served at the table, but has also managed to win international recognition and is a kind of calling card of Slavic cuisine. There are many ways to cook borscht, and it cannot be said that any of them is wrong. It’s just that from region to region the ingredients and cooking methods change in accordance with local traditions. And if you ask two housewives living in different regions to cook traditional folk borscht, you will get two completely different tasting dishes. We have studied how this wonderful dish is prepared in different parts of the country and are ready to help you not get lost in the recipes for the most delicious borscht.

Classic borscht recipe step by step

Despite the fact that there is no actual classic recipe for borscht, it is safe to say that some recipes are more common and some less common. And if any recipe can be labeled as classic borscht, it’s this one.

You will need:

Beef – 500 g;
Carrots – 1 pc.;
Onion – 1 pc.;
Beets – 1 pc.;
Dill greens - to taste;
Tomato paste – 1 tbsp. l.;
Bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
Salt - to taste;
Ground black pepper - to taste.

Classic borscht recipe step by step

Cooking process:

Rinse the beef under running water and cut it into small cubes. Take a large saucepan, put the meat in it, fill it with water and put it on the fire for about 40 minutes. During the cooking process, foam will form on the surface of the broth, remove it with a tablespoon.
Meanwhile, while the broth is cooking, peel and wash the potatoes, beets and carrots. Grate the carrots and beets on a coarse grater, chop the potatoes into cubes, place in a deep bowl and cover with water so that they do not turn black.
Peel the onion and chop into small pieces.
Boil a kettle and dissolve the tomato paste in a glass of hot water.
Place a frying pan on the fire with a small amount of vegetable oil. When the frying pan is hot, add the onion and, stirring, fry until golden brown.
Add carrots and beets to the pan, cover them with water and tomato paste, stir, cover with a lid, reduce heat and simmer until tender, stirring occasionally.
Add the potatoes to the boiled broth, after draining the water, and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Add the frying from the frying pan to the pan, stir, salt and pepper to taste and add a bay leaf. Reduce the heat under the pan to minimum, cover with a lid and leave the borscht for 20 minutes.
Wash and finely chop the dill.
When the borscht is ready, add the dill to the pan, cover it with a lid and let it sit for another 10 minutes.

Borscht can be served with sour cream. Bon appetit.

A little history

It is useful to know a little history of this delicious dish. Borsch is a traditional Slavic dish. Then every woman had to know how to cook borscht. It was considered a shame for the whole family that the wife or daughter did not know how to properly prepare this dish. Back then there weren’t as many recipes as there are now. But each family had its own secrets that were not accepted to be shared.

These secrets were passed down from generation to generation: from mother to daughters, and from these daughters to their daughters, etc. An interesting fact is that this soup received the name “borsch” thanks to the plant “hogweed”. It was the leaves of this plant that were then the main ingredient of the dish. Later, this soup began to be prepared with beet kvass. And only after that they began to use the beets themselves for cooking.

Today, borscht is considered to be the first dish of Ukrainian cuisine. But, despite this, borscht is loved in Russia, Romania, Lithuania, and many other countries. Often you may have noticed that some people confuse borscht with cabbage soup. Repeatedly, even disputes arose on the topic that cabbage soup is the same borscht, only its color is not red, but yellow or orange. There is still no correct answer to resolving this dispute.

Recipe for borscht with cabbage

Another very common and popular borscht recipe is borscht with cabbage. Cabbage adds a slight contrasting sourness to the taste of borscht and makes the soup itself more satisfying by increasing the amount of thickening.

You will need:

Beef – 500 g;
Carrots – 1 pc.;
Onion – 1 pc.;
Beets – 1 pc.;
Cabbage – 200 g;
Dill greens - to taste;
Tomato paste – 1 tbsp. l.;
Bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
Salt - to taste;
Ground black pepper - to taste.

Recipe for borscht with cabbage

Cooking process:

Rinse the beef under running water and cut it into small cubes. Take a large saucepan, put the meat in it, fill it with water and put it on the fire for 40 minutes.
Start preparing the vegetables. Peel the washed potatoes, beets and carrots. Grind the carrots and beets on a coarse grater, and chop the potatoes into cubes and leave them in cold water.
Finely chop the peeled onion.
Wash the cabbage and separate the head into individual leaves. Chop the cabbage leaves into thin strips.
Dissolve tomato paste in a glass of hot water.
Start frying the borscht. Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the onion and, stirring, fry until golden brown.
Place the vegetables in the pan, add water and tomato paste, cover with a lid and simmer the mixture until tender.
Add cabbage and potatoes to the prepared broth and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Place the borscht dressing into the pan, stir, adjust the taste with salt and spices, add bay leaf. Reduce heat to low and leave the borscht covered for another 20 minutes.
Finely chop the washed dill.
Add dill to the prepared borscht and leave to stand covered for 5 minutes.

Borscht can be served with sour cream. Bon appetit.

A few important points

There are some important points in preparing this dish. If you follow them, the borscht will be more tasty and satisfying. So, vegetables need to be cut as evenly as possible. For cooking, you should choose only high-quality products. If you have any doubts that the cabbage is not fresh enough or sour, then it is better not to use it, but to go get a new one. Except for cabbage, all vegetables should be firm. Make sure that the tomato paste does not contain any preservatives and that only natural tomatoes are used. Instead of spices, it is better to use natural vegetables. The only spice is salt. Be careful not to overcook vegetables. To do this, add the next batch of vegetables to the soup immediately after it boils. It is also important to ensure that the borscht does not boil after adding the cabbage. To do this, all the last steps need to be done quickly. Remember, when the cabbage boils for even a few minutes, it will give the soup an unpleasant smell.

Borscht is best eaten with sour cream and Borodino bread. Many people like to eat borscht with homemade bread, which has a crispy crust. You can sprinkle it with breadcrumbs, but not a lot. Some people don’t like to eat this dish with sour cream and eat it with mayonnaise. As for dill, it should be added to the plate, not to the pan.

How to cook delicious borscht step by step recipe

Borscht with chicken, cabbage and dumplings is very common in Ukraine, and in particular in the Poltava region. This is a very good borscht recipe, because the soup turns out to be very satisfying and rich. With this borscht you can easily feed even the largest and hungriest family.

You will need:

Chicken thigh – 2 pcs.;
Cabbage – 0.5 kg;
Potatoes – 250 g;
Carrots – 1 pc.;
Onion – 1 pc.;
Beets – 1 pc.;
Parsley root – 50g;
Lard – 30 g;
Tomato paste – 2 tbsp. l.;
Flour – 0.5 tbsp;
Chicken egg – 1 pc.;
Greens - to taste;
Salt - to taste;
Ground black pepper - to taste.

How to cook delicious borscht step by step recipe

Cooking process:

Remove the lard from the refrigerator in advance so that it is soft before cooking.
Rinse chicken thighs under running water. Peel them and place them in a deep saucepan with water. Place the pan on the fire for about an hour. Periodically, do not forget to remove the fat formed on the surface.
Peel and wash the carrots and beets and grate them on a coarse grater.
Peel the onion and finely chop it.
Chop the potatoes into small cubes and leave them in a bowl of water.
Peel the parsley root, wash it and cut it into small strips.
Wash the head of cabbage, cut it in half and cut the halves into small squares.
When the broth is cooked, remove the chicken from it, place it in a deep bowl and cover with cold water to cool.
Throw the cabbage and potatoes into the pan.
Dissolve tomato paste with a glass of hot water.
Fry the onion in hot oil until golden brown.
Add carrots, celery root and beets to the pan, cover them with water and tomato paste and, stirring, simmer until tender.
Wash and finely chop the greens (it is best to use dill, green onions and parsley).
Cut the lard into small cubes, after cutting off the skin.
Using a mortar and pestle, grind the lard into the herbs.
Add the roast to the pan and stir.
Take the cooled meat and use your hands to separate it into small pieces, separating it from the bone and removing the fat. Return the cut meat to the pan. Salt and pepper the borscht, add lard and herbs, stir, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about half an hour.
At this time, boil the kettle and put 2 liters of water on the stove to boil. Pour 3 tablespoons of boiling water into a deep bowl and dissolve a pinch of salt in it. Add a third of the flour to the boiling water and stir until smooth. Chill the dough by placing the bowl containing it in a deeper bowl of cold water.
When the dough has cooled, beat the egg into it, add the rest of the flour and knead.
To make dumplings, take a tablespoon and scoop out the dough with it, then drop it into boiling water in a saucepan. The dumpling will fall off the spoon, acquiring the required shape and volume. When all the dumplings are in the pan, cook them for 2-3 minutes and then drain the water using a colander.
Transfer the dumplings to an empty pan and cover with a lid.

To serve, place the required number of dumplings on each plate. It is also recommended to season the borscht with sour cream. Bon appetit.

TOP 5 tips for choosing meat for borscht

When purchasing meat, you should adhere to the following rules:

Give preference to chilled meat. Buy it at markets or in specialized stores. In multi-purpose supermarkets, the owners do not care about the intricacies of product storage.
Check the color of the meat. In beef it is deep red or crimson, in lamb it is dark red, in pork it is pink-red. The fat streaks are white or creamy; in grain-fed beef they are yellowish. Pronounced yellow meat from adult or stale cattle is best avoided.
Check the meat by pressing. A dent on a fresh piece is immediately restored, but on a non-fresh piece it remains.
Sniff the meat. Fresh cuts have a pleasant, “edible” smell that does not cause negative sensations.
Take meat on the bone. It is this that gives the broth its rich taste.

If you have to purchase frozen meat, then its color should not be dull, the cut should be even, and a distinct sound will be heard when you tap the cut.

If you still have doubts about the quality, you can ask to see the accompanying documentation, which any bona fide seller has.

Recipe for pampushka for borscht

Well, since we are talking about borscht, we must admit that it is difficult to imagine this dish without aromatic donuts for a bite. These small fluffy buns go perfectly with borscht, and you can safely serve them with any soup prepared according to the recipes presented above. Especially considering the fact that they are simply prepared, it would be downright sinful not to spend a little extra time preparing them to please yourself and your loved ones.

You will need:

Flour – 250 g;
Milk – 0.5 tbsp;
Dry yeast – 6 g;
Butter – 1 tbsp. l.;
Chicken egg – 1 pc.;
Garlic – 4 cloves;
Sugar – 0.5 tbsp. l.;
Salt - to taste.

Recipe for pampushka for borscht

Cooking process:

Sift the flour through a fine sieve.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan and dissolve the yeast in it. It is important that the milk is warm, not hot.
Add salt and sugar to the milk, and then stir the butter into it. Add flour in a thin stream, stirring constantly to avoid the formation of lumps.
Knead the dough with your hands, cover it with a towel or cling film and place in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Turn on the oven and set it to preheat at 200°C.
Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
Using your hands, form the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet.
Make shallow cuts in the shape of a cross on the top of each dough ball.
Beat the egg with a whisk and use a pastry brush to coat the donuts with it. If desired, you can sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
When the oven has warmed up, reduce the temperature to 180°C and place the baking sheet in it for 20 minutes.
Peel the garlic cloves and crush them using a garlic press, or grate them on a fine grater. Mix garlic with two tablespoons of vegetable oil. If you wish, you can also add very finely chopped herbs, such as dill, to the oil.
Five minutes before they are ready, remove the pampushki from the oven, brush them with garlic oil and send them back until fully cooked.

Let the finished donuts cool slightly so as not to burn your hands, and serve along with the borscht. Bon appetit.

Fkusnofacts

How to serve borscht

Sour cream, bread with lard or basturma, green onions and garlic, hard-boiled chicken eggs, cheesecakes with cottage cheese, and donuts are served on the table.

How to store borscht

Cover the pot with borscht tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days (remember that vinegar is a strong preservative). Borscht can be frozen in a bag - once frozen, it will keep for a month.

Cost of products

The cost of ingredients for preparing a 4-liter pan of borscht is 400 rubles. (average for Moscow as of July 2021).

How to make diet borscht

The dish can be made less caloric if you do not fry it. Just peel and cut the vegetables and add them to the soup: beets, after 10 minutes cabbage, after 5 minutes potatoes, carrots and onions. Or you can cook borscht without meat at all - lean borscht is also very good.