Not everyone knows how to cook borscht. This tasty and healthy dish pleases the eye and even improves the mood, so it always makes sense to learn how to cook it.
Moreover, it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. And the ingredients for cooking borscht need the most common - no exotic: beef or pork (half a kilogram - kilogram), potatoes (half a kilogram), fresh cabbage (300-400 g), beets (300 g), carrots (200 g), onions (200 g), garlic, bay leaf, lemon, tomato paste, herbs, pepper, vegetable oil.
The meat must be washed, cut into pieces and cooked for an hour and a half. The finished broth will become the main one for the borscht. As soon as the broth boils, it is necessary to add finely chopped fresh cabbage, onions and carrots grated on a medium-sized grater into it (if desired, onions and carrots can be sautéed in vegetable oil beforehand). Potatoes are added half an hour before the borscht is ready. Beets must be grated and fried, then added to the dish. You can pre-stew all the vegetables together, while adding tomato paste - but no more than seven minutes - and only then add them to the broth.
By the way, many connoisseurs of borscht add, in addition to the main components listed above, beans, paprika or broccoli - in a word, who loves what. And in most cases, this affects the taste of the dish in the most positive way. The main thing is to cook the borscht so that it does not seem too thick (after all, this is not a puree soup after all) or too thin. It is not always possible to achieve the ideal consistency of borscht the first time, but you need to strive for this - and sooner or later everything will work out, as the well-known proverb says: "Experience is a profitable business." At the very end, add bay leaves, parsley root and herbs, pepper and salt, and crushed or finely chopped garlic. After the borscht is ready, you need to remove the pan from the heat and let the dish brew. Borscht is traditionally served with sour cream and herbs.
