Borsh la Kazakha

Borsh is one of the few dishes I crave, especially on a cold winter day nothing can replace the meatiness, richness, and comfort of this soup. While most people think borsh is a Russian dish, the origins of this soup come from Ukraine. There are endless variation of borsh: beef, pork, vegetarian, “green”, etc. This might not be the classical recipe, but this is a recipe I grew up with.

Ingredients:

Stock:

.5 pound of beef stew bones

1 large carrot cut in a half

1 large onion cut in a half

Olive oil

2 bay leaves

1 pound of fatty large cuts of beef

1 tsp whole peppercorns

Soup:

2 cups of shredded cabbage

¾ cup shredded red beet

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

½ cup shredded carrots

1 large red tomato chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp white wine vinegar

3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes cubed

Salt
Black pepper

1.     To make a stock, preheat the oven to 400F. Place bones, carrots, and onions in a large roasting pan. Pour over olive oil  so all ingredients are evenly covered with a thin layer of oil. Roast for 30 minutes turning the bones half way. The bones should be caramelized, but not fully charred.

2.     Remove the pot from the oven and pour 1 cup of water in the pan scraping the bottom to remove all of the brown pieces. Strain the mixture into a large stock pot reserving bones and vegetables. Place bones, carrot, onion, meat, peppercorns, and bay leave in the stock pot. Fill the pot with 8 cups of cold water, cover and simmer skimming off excess fat for at least 1 hour.

3.     Strain the broth discarding bones and reserving the meat. Cut the meat into smaller pieces about 1 inch each; set the meat aside.

4.     Return the broth into the pot adding cabbage, bay leaf, and 2 tsp of salt. Cover and bring to simmer. Cook for 5-7 minutes and add potatoes cubes.

5.     Preheat oil on a large skillet over medium heat. Add beets and carrots cooking the vegetables until they soften. Add garlic and cook for another minute before tossing in tomato, tomato paste, and 1 tsp of salt. Cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes until tomato juice evaporates. Add vinegar and let it evaporate. Turn the heat off.

6.     At this point potatoes should be already cooked. Turn the heat off, add vegetables from the skillet and meat. Let borsh cool a bit, then add salt and pepper to taste.

7.     Traditionally, borsh is topped with chopped dill and a heaping teaspoon of sour cream. Serve it with potato pirozhki (Russian empanadas pictured below) or good Russian rye. Borsh will taste even better the next day. Priyatnogo appetitaJ