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. |
| |
| posted by nicole 12/21/01 |
| |
| here's my grandma pawliw's recipe for ukrainian borscht. |
| |
| 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) |
| |
| how to make it: |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| 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! |
| |
| 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). |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| 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 |