Moscow Borscht
⏳ Time
40 minutes + 2 hours
🥕 Ingredients
16
🍽️ Servings
10
Description
Moscow Borscht is a traditional Russian beet soup that has become a beloved dish across many cultures. This hearty soup is made with beets, cabbage, potatoes, and often includes meat for added flavor. It's typically served with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill on top. Perfect for warming up on a cold day, this dish embodies the rich flavors and comforting essence of Eastern European cuisine.
Ingredients
- Beetroot - 3 pieces
- Vegetable Oil - 3 fl oz
- Vinegar essence - 1 fl oz
- Passata Tomato Sauce - 3.5 oz
- Garlic - 3 cloves
- White Cabbage - ½ pieces
- Onion - 3 heads
- Carrot - 3 pieces
- Parsley - 1 bunch
- Beef chuck roast - 1½ kg
- Water - 5 qt
- Sour Cream - to taste
- Bay leaf - 3 pieces
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon
- Salt - to taste
- Ground Black Pepper - to taste
Step by Step guide
Step 1
Prepare the meat broth. Place the beef in a pot and cover it with water, bringing it to a boil. Add the root vegetables: carrot, onion, garlic, and parsley stems to the broth. Reduce the heat and let the broth simmer gently for one and a half hours. The broth's readiness is also determined by the meat: it should be cooked through, edible, and tender. Once everything is cooked, strain the broth.
Step 2
Julienne the beetroot.
Step 3
Place a pot or skillet over high heat, pour in vegetable oil, add the beets, and sauté over high heat for 5–10 minutes until the beets are browned and caramelized.
Step 4
Pour vinegar into the beets, stir, then add tomato paste. The vinegar is necessary to prevent the beets from losing their color. The tomato paste adds color and flavor, balancing the sour and sweet elements. Be careful to avoid burning the tomato paste — it is heavy and sinks quickly to the bottom of the pot. Add sugar, salt, and black pepper to taste, along with a bay leaf, and mix well. Then add two ladles of broth. Place the pot with the marinated beets over low heat, cover with a lid or foil, and let it simmer for one to one and a half hours.
Step 5
When the beetroot is almost ready, slice two onions into strips, that is, into half-rings. Sauté the onions in a frying pan with vegetable oil. At the same time, heat the broth.
Step 6
While the onion is frying, julienne two carrots and add them to the onion, sautéing until cooked.
Step 7
Slice the cabbage into thin strips. Blanch it to release its cabbage flavor; this step can be skipped if the aroma doesn't bother you.
Step 8
Add the cabbage to the hot broth and let it cook. The cabbage should be added first so that it has enough time to cook, as it takes longer to become tender than the potatoes, not to mention the nearly cooked beets, carrots, and onions. Bring the broth with the cabbage to a boil, let it simmer for a minute, and then reduce the heat to the lowest setting.
Step 9
Cut four potatoes into sticks. Add them to the broth with cabbage. This step can be skipped, as the borscht will be delicious even without potatoes.
Step 10
Finely chop the garlic. Chop the parsley leaves.
Step 11
After 12-15 minutes of adding the cabbage (taste the cabbage: if it's nearly cooked, the time has come), add the sautéed onions and carrots to the broth. Bring to a boil.
Step 12
Remove the beef from the bone that was used to make the broth, and cut it into small flat pieces or strips. Add it to the broth. Transfer the beet along with all the juices it was cooked in into the broth. Then, add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and let the borscht simmer gently for a couple more minutes.
Step 13
Ladle the borscht into bowls, sprinkle with herbs, and add sour cream if desired. Naturally, on the second day, the borscht will taste even better.
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