How to cook classical borsch

Borsch is a traditional dish of the Eastern Slavs, the main first dish of South Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, is also widely used in the national cuisines of neighboring peoples: Poles, Lithuanians, Romanians and Moldavians have similar dishes.

There is such a geographical concept as “Borsch belt”, which covers the territories where the borch is the traditional dish - from southeastern Poland through Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian regions to Volga and Dnieper rivers.

There are some famous persons who like Borsch: the writer Nikolai Gogol, Russian Empress Catherine II and Russian Emperor Alexander II, the world-famous ballerina Anna Pavlova, French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, Princess of Wales Diana.

There are 70 types of Borsch. But we will describe how to cook traditional Borsch.

You will need next ingredients some of which you can order at our site:

• 1.5-2 litres of water
• 400-500 g of pork or beef on the bone
• 2 small beetroots;
• 1 medium carrots;
• 3 medium onions;
• 4–5 spoons of oil;
• a pinch of citric acid, a little table vinegar or ½ lemon;
• 2 spoons of tomato paste.
• 300 g of fresh cabbage;
• 4 medium potatoes;
• salt;
• dried bay leaf;
• fresh dill and parsley (optional);
• garlic (optional).

Pour cold water into the pan, lay the meat and put on medium heat. The broth will be tastier if you use the meat on the bone. Remove the foam before the boiling. When the liquid is boiling, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for an hour and a half

Wash and peel the beetroots, carrots and onions. Grate beetroots on a coarse grater, and carrots - on medium. Cut the onion into small cubes. Pour oil into a pan, turn on medium heat. Sauté the onions and carrots, stirring for about 5 minutes. Then put beetroots in the pan. Add citric acid, vinegar or lemon juice to it. The borscht will be truly red and gain a pleasant sourness thanks to these components. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, mix and leave on the fire for another 5-7 minutes.

While the cabbage and potatoes are being cooked, separate the meat from the bone and cut it into cubes and return it to the soup. Salt to taste. Add the base for Borsch and mix. Throw dried bay leaf and chopped dill and parsley. Cover the pot and cook for another 5–7 minutes. You can add a little chopped garlic for flavor. Leave the borsch to stay for 5-10 minutes. The soup is ready.

Borsch can be eaten after cooking immediately. But it is even tastier next day. Add sour cream and fresh herbs to the soup. If you prefer more acidic soup, put a slice of lemon. The Borscht is eaten with rye bread or buns.