Borsch (борщ) is a Ukrainian (Eastern European, really) soup with many regional variants. It is one of my favourite soups, so I make it often. Shopping for vegetables in Scotland is unlike Canada, so I thought I’d document the ingredients and steps I used.
The ingredients are as follows:
- ⅓ Cabbage
- 1 Red onion
- 3 or 4 Charlotte potatoes
- 300g of beets (pre-steamed because that’s how they’re sold here)
- 1 small leek
- Salt
- Apple cider vinegar
- Dill
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Sugar
- Sour cream
- About 100g of butter
- 2L of water
Here are the steps to make it:
- Peel the potatoes. Dice the potatoes and ¾ of the beets.
- Chop up the ⅓ cabbage, the onion, and the leek into manageable pieces.
- Sauté the cabbage, onion, potato, and diced beets in the pot with the butter, some dill, and minced garlic.
- While sautéing, use a grater to make small strips of the remaining beets. Add them to the pot.
- When all of the butter has been melted into the vegetables in the pot, add between 1.5 and 2 litres of water.
- Add a generous pinch of sugar and a bay leaf to the pot.
- Add salt and dill to suit your taste.
- Bring the pot to a boil.
- Keep the pot bubbling for 30 minutes, or until the cabbage and potato are sufficiently soft.
- When the vegetables have softened, add 3-4 spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar.
- While boiling, you may replace water, and add salt or dill using your judgement to achieve a desirable taste and consistency.
- When the potato and cabbage are soft enough, take the pot off the burner and serve. It is common to add a scoop of sour cream to the center of each bowl.
