Borsch is a traditional dish of the Eastern Slavs. This rich soup with a bright taste and color is rightfully ranked first among the first courses of Russian and Ukrainian cuisine.
Borscht is a delicious, aromatic soup. It is made with beets, which give it its characteristic red color. There are a huge number of different options for cooking borscht, each of them is distinguished by its originality and excellent taste.
The word "borscht" comes from the name of the plant, the leaves of which were used for food. In the old days, hogweed soup was called borscht (not to be confused with a plant that causes a burn). Later they began to cook borscht using beet kvass.
Traditional homemade borscht recipe
To prepare the dish, you will need: 500 grams of chicken breast, 6 pieces of beets, 1/2 head of cabbage, 1 carrot, 1 parsley root, 1 onion, 4 potato tubers, 3 tablespoons of tomato puree, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 bell pepper, lemon acid, bay leaf, peppercorns, salt, granulated sugar, herbs, butter, 1 liter of water.
Recipe:
Wash and peel the beets, cut into strips or grate them through a coarse grater. Grease a skillet with butter, place the chopped beets on top of it and add tomato puree or tomato paste. Saute the ingredients over low heat. Peel and finely grate the carrots, then place them over the beets. Simmer vegetables for 5-10 minutes. Take a saucepan, pour water into it and boil the chicken breast until half cooked. At this time, peel and chop potatoes, onions, garlic and bell peppers, chop the cabbage. Cut the cooled chicken breast into small pieces. Take a large saucepan and pour water into it. Put in it chicken breast, stewed beets and carrots, chopped vegetables, garlic. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Salt the borscht, add a little granulated sugar, citric acid, seasonings, bay leaves and herbs. Let the soup simmer and cook until tender.
The traditional borscht should be served with sour cream and fresh rye bread.
Borsch with porcini mushrooms
To prepare the dish, you will need: 200 grams of fresh porcini mushrooms, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, parsley root, 400 grams of beets, 4 potato tubers, 1 liter of water, 1 teaspoon of flour, 2 tablespoons of herbs, salt.
Recipe:
Chop the mushrooms and simmer in vegetable oil with chopped parsley until tender. Rinse the beets, peel, boil and grate on a coarse grater. Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Pour water into a saucepan, put potatoes in it and boil until soft. Next, add stewed mushrooms, grated beets, herbs and flour to the potatoes. Salt the borscht, let it boil, then cook for 10 minutes.
Smolensk borsch
To prepare the dish, you will need: 200 grams of beef, 200 grams of pork, 250 grams of beets, 300 grams of parsley roots, 100 grams of port, 1 liter of water, salt.
Recipe:
Rinse the beef and pork thoroughly under warm running water. Place the meat in a saucepan. Add chopped parsley roots to the meat and cover the ingredients with water. Cook a rich broth from the products. While the broth is cooking, peel the beets and bake them in the oven. Cut the baked beets into strips. When the broth is cooked, lay out the meat, cut it into small pieces and send it back to the broth. Add chopped beets, port and salt to the meat. Boil the borscht for 5-7 minutes and serve.
