The first time I had borscht was at the restaurant Petrossian in New York, ever since then I’ve been making this comforting ruby brew throughout the winter months. Borcht is a staple meal throughout Russia where infinite versions are made using earthy winter vegetables, the color of the beets brings the color to the soup. This soup has been warming hands and souls throughout Russian history from the most humble peasant tables to the grandest dining rooms of the Kremlin.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of trying or making borscht, there is not better time than the present, and here are some reasons why:
First of all, it makes a stunning crimson presentation that will warm the hearts of all of your favorite Valentines.
Secondly, plans are in place to serve over 70,000 gallons of borscht at the Sochi Olympic games, so, if you don’t want to feel left out while watching the games at home, brew up a batch, this is the perfect dish to serve for any Olympic party you may be planning. To read more about this national dish and the culinary effort {event?} to serve it to Olympic game-goers click on borscht.
Finally, you may be looking at the paragraph above, and the image below and thinking “ruby??” While I usually make this soup with all red beets, this time I used a mix of yellow {3/4}, and red {1/4} beets to create a soup with more of an orange tint, just in time for the Soup~er Bowl. It’s going to be a cold one, February 2, but who would know better about staving off the winter chill than the Russians?
I’m thinking that serving an orange soup can work for both sides of the Superbowl Challenge, you can either say “go orange” if you are a Bronco fan, or “we’re going to chew up the orange”….. or something like that, if you’re rooting for the Seahawks. What do you think?
But for Valentine’s day or a holiday feast, this melange of distinctly flavorful winter vegetables
will look best stained with pure red beet juice for a memorably scarlet winter feast.
So what does one serve with this stupendous soup once it’s prepared? Borcht is something that you can go “high” or “low” with, or somewhere in between. You can create a marvelously cozy~casual meal by serving it with just a classic Caesar salad {after trying dozens of Caesar salad recipes over the years, I think this one is the best} and plenty of garlicky croutons. But if you wanted to offer a more lavish spread you can layer on oysters on the half shell with this mignonette sauce {also red}, slices of terrine de fois gras, or the ultimate, sautéed foie gras with a balsamic reduction sauce {reduce 1 part balsamic vinegar and 3 parts chicken broth down to about 1/2 the volume with slices of dried apricots and just a few capers, after it is reduced, add a little brown sugar or honey to taste if you’d like a slightly sweeter sauce}.
Whatever you decide to serve with it, this beautiful brew is sure to please. Here is my standard recipe and process, adapted from a recipe by two women who have been very inspirational to me in regards to cooking and entertaining, Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, RIP, authors of The New Basics {where you’ll find this recipe} and many other tombs of satisfying and spectacular cuisine.
Now, please don’t go numb when you see the length of this ingredients list. While this soup is a “process”, it really doesn’t take very much focused time. Like most soups, it tastes much better if the flavors of the ingredients have time to meld together. I usually start making it 3 or 4 days in advance {see my process under preparation}. Broken down in this way it really doesn’t feel like much of an effort at all and the final product is all the more outstanding.
Winter Borscht
serves 10 – 12
Ingredients
2 pounds beets, well washed, with 1 inch of stem left on
Pinch of coarse {kosher} salt
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds beef short ribs
6 cups beef stock
3 cups water
1 onion, peeled and studded with 4 whole cloves
5 cloves garlic
4 sprigs fresh dill
3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
2 cups Great Northern or navy beans, cooked
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
2 leeks {white part and 1 inch green}, well rinsed and cut into julienne
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups drained and coarsely chopped Italian plum tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
For garnish: sour cream, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or chopped chives and paddlefish caviar
Preparation
Day 1
Place the beets in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and add the coarse salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cover. Simmer until the beets are just tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the beets with a slotted spoon. Strain and reserve the cooking liquid.
Place the beets in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and add the coarse salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cover. Simmer until the beets are just tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the beets with a slotted spoon. Strain and reserve the cooking liquid.
After they’ve cooled, slip the skins off the beets, and cut them into medium sized cubes. Its best to do this in the sink and wear an apron {or even gloves} because the juice will stain. Store the chopped beets in the reserved cooking liquid in the refrigerator.
Day 2
Heat the butter and oil in a heavy soup pot and brown the short ribs on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour off the grease.
Heat the butter and oil in a heavy soup pot and brown the short ribs on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour off the grease.
To the ribs in the soup pot add the beef stock, water, onion, garlic cloves and dill sprigs. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and partially cover. Simmer for an hour or two. Remove the onion, garlic cloves and dill sprigs with a slotted spoon. Refrigerate broth.
Day 3
Remove the short ribs from the soup. Shred the meat from the bones. Use a slotted spoon to remove any additional bones and discard. Heat the broth, add the shredded meat, cabbage, beets, cooked beans, carrots, leeks, parsnips, chopped garlic, tomato paste, chicken stock, and 2 cups of the reserved beet liquid. Partially cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook 15 minutes. At this stage the soup is ready to serve, or you could refrigerate it, then reheat when you want to serve it the next day. If the soup is too thick for your liking you can add more beet juice {be sure to taste the beet juice, it will be a little salty} or broth when you do the final heating.
Remove the short ribs from the soup. Shred the meat from the bones. Use a slotted spoon to remove any additional bones and discard. Heat the broth, add the shredded meat, cabbage, beets, cooked beans, carrots, leeks, parsnips, chopped garlic, tomato paste, chicken stock, and 2 cups of the reserved beet liquid. Partially cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook 15 minutes. At this stage the soup is ready to serve, or you could refrigerate it, then reheat when you want to serve it the next day. If the soup is too thick for your liking you can add more beet juice {be sure to taste the beet juice, it will be a little salty} or broth when you do the final heating.
Serve the soup with plenty of garlic croutons. Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream, a sprig of dill or a scattering of chopped chives; and for an extra luxurious Russian touch add little topping of caviar. Paddlefish caviar, though not Russian, is a decadent, but reasonably priced option.
Freeze a bottle of Russian vodka in the freezer and serve it with shot glasses for an authentic touch!
Zazdarovje!
Looks so beautiful!! I just wish I could warm up to the flavor of beets! I realize I am probably in the minority and your lovely photos are making me want to give it another try.
Emily,
Your recipes look so good. I am not a beet person but the Borscht does look yummy and I like the idea of the lighter beets. AND that balsamic reduction – yummers, I could probably eat it with a spoon. 🙂
That almond cake looks good too, I may have to try it with gluten free flour.
All the best…
Yum! Craving Brocht now!
E+J
Emily how delish!This must also be filled with antioxidants galore!
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena