Our straight forward and no nonsense Borshch recipe will be an amazing dish to serve to your family this Svitay Vechir. If you have not cooked Borshcht before, you definitely need to give this recipe a try!
This much-loved national dish needs no introduction. Borshch recipes differ widely between each region, and even families.
Learn how to make this hearty beetroot soup this Christmas with our simple recipe, with special tips along the way from our very own Michael Fryszczyn!
Our Borshch Recipe.
Ingredients:
3 packs of cooked beetroot.
1 tin of cannellini beans.
1 white cabbage.
3 bay leaves.
2 celery stalks.
1 container of passata.
3 carrots.
1 small onion.
2-3 vegetable stock cubes, depending on the size of your pan.
Salt and black pepper to taste.
Soured cream.
Crusty bread to serve.
Borscht is an extremely flexible dish to cook, and varies widely from each region - and even between families! Some people choose to cook with potatoes, turnips, and other root vegetables to add extra flavour and pad-out the dish. Other variations include adding grated garlic and fresh dill for a little extra kick.
Michael Fryszczyn, who cooks the Borshch for our cookery classes, recommends adding cannellini beans to the soup, although he says any choice of beans will suffice!
Recipe:
1. Begin by prepping your vegetables. Shred the head of one large white cabbage and grate the carrots. Finely chop the celery and onion.
2. In the biggest saucepan you own, fill it 3/4 full with boiling water. Do not overfill the pan, or you risk it overflowing when the additional ingredients are added.
3. Bring the water to the boil, adding the stock cubes and bay leaves.
4. Add the prepared cabbage and carrots to the water, before leaving them to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Salt the water as desired.
5. Grate in the cooked beetroot. Drain and add the cannellini beans, along with the tin of passata.
6. Simmer for 20 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, as you will lose the beautiful red colouring.
7. Your cabbage may appear white at first. For best results, leave the soup to rest overnight and serve the following day to allow the flavours to deepen.
8. To serve, garnish with full-fat soured cream and crusty bread.
Top Tips:
As mentioned prior, this dish has many regional variations. One tasty alternative is adding beef, along with beef stock. However, as our recipe is specifically for the Holy Свят Вечір meal, it can not include meat.
If using fresh beetroot, we recommend using 3 big ones - but remember to use gloves when preparing them!
Borshch is freezable, and can last in a secure container for up to four months.
For extra flavour, fresh dill can be added both in the recipe, and on top before serving.
Over to you:
Let us know how you find our recipe, and if you have any family variations of our much-loved national dish.
Join us on social media for the discussions and tag us in a photo of your own Borshch, we'd love to see your dishes!
Смачного!
Written by Leah Dorotiak for Huddersfield Ukrainian Club.