Grandma's Ukrainian Borscht
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this is one of my all time favorite and most used recipes from this |
group. i have a passion for good borscht, just threw away my other |
recipes after i made this one. lengthy, but very easy. |
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posted by nicole 12/21/01 |
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here's my grandma pawliw's recipe for ukrainian borscht. |
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1/2 lb. | beets (1 big one or 2 small) or 5 or 6 cans of sliced beets |
| with no flavouring) |
1 can | northern beans or butter beans (i think northern beans are |
| better, but sometimes they are difficult to find without seasoning) |
| carrot - at least 1 medium, maybe more if you like them. cut into |
| bite sized pieces (larger or smaller depending on the size of your |
| bite |
| onion - one medium, cut up. |
1 stick | of celery, more if you like - again, cut into bite size |
piece | |
1 cup | of shredded cabbage, more if you like |
| salt |
| ground pepper |
| white vinegar |
| lemon juice (i always use real lemon and it works just fine, in my |
| opinion |
| sugar |
| bay leaf |
| garlic powder if you wish |
| beef bouillon crystals (or, if you want to splurge, 1/2 a can of |
| swansons beef bouillon) |
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how to make it: |
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place about 2 quarts of water in a big, big pot (it will fill up,trust |
me). open up your can of beans and drain in a colander, washing off |
the liquid from the can. place the beans in the pot. place carrot, |
onion, celery, cabbage, and bay leaf in the pot. put the burner on |
medium high and get to boil, but not a very vigorous boil. while |
you're waiting for the water to get hot, work on the beets. |
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now there are 2 ways to do this. if you use fresh beets, you will not |
have to use as many, but it will be very messy. so - if you're using |
fresh beets, cut off the stems but keep the leaves, clean the leaves, |
cut them up and put them in the pot. then shred the beets on a grater |
and add to the pot. |
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if you're using canned beets, buy the sliced variety. open up the |
can, and cut up the sliced beets to your preferred size - also, make |
sure to look out for black spots on the beets (you don't want to use |
those!) add the liquid from the can and the sliced beets. you'll |
notice that the canned beets are not as 'strong' as the fresh and your |
borscht will be a little weak - that's why i always keep an extra can |
and add it in *last*. otherwise - anemic borscht! |
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after you've added all the vegetables and most of the beets (remember, |
you're keeping a reserve can if you're using canned beets), stir it up |
and sit down for a little while, letting the soup simmer. (simmer, |
not boil vigorously - for about 20 or so minutes). then return and |
give it a look. does it need more beets? if the color is dark and |
rich, proceed. if it looks a little light, add more beets. (i |
usually use about 5 cans but always buy 6 or 7 when i'm making borscht |
- i don't mind buying more b/c beets never go to waste in my house). |
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now for the fine tuning. add some salt. add some more salt. be |
generous; my grandma never cut short on salt. add a few shakes of |
ground pepper too. |
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now comes the very fun part - adding the sour cream. you don't want to |
just dump sour cream into the soup, because it will curdle. so, take |
a mug and take a bit of the broth out. add some flour and sour cream |
to the cup and stir with a fork until smooth. then place the sour |
cream mixture into the pot. i find i usually do this about 3 times, |
each time filling the cup to about 1/4 way. add some beef bouillon |
crystals or, as i said earlier, 1/2 a can of beef broth. add a few |
shakes of garlic powder if you feel like it. |
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we're almost done. now, add a tablespoon of white vinegar and a |
tablespoon of lemon juice. add about a tea-spoon of white sugar. |
stir and taste. what do you think? from this point it is just a |
matter of fine tuning. some people will think it's finished right now, |
while others will say it needs more vinegar / etc. i always seem to |
add a shake of salt, a tablespoon more of vinegar and of lemon juice, |
and of course a bit more sugar. rule of thumb - if you add something |
sour, you have to add something sweet as well. |
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when it's to your taste - eat it! i always have mine with a big |
dollop of sour cream in the bowl. delicious! |
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(ID: 10946) Mirror: rec.food.recipes: Sun, Sep 7, 2003 |