Ukrainian borsch

Despite the fact that Ukrainian borscht is the hallmark of local Ukrainian cuisine, housewives from all neighboring countries dream of learning how to cook it. This hot dish is especially appropriate during the cold winter season. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the zest of each recipe and enjoy the cooking process.

Classic recipe for Ukrainian borscht with beets

In order for homemade borscht to meet all expectations, you need to devote more time to properly preparing the broth based on beef and cabbage. And to give the borscht a rich and bright color, add beets.

1. 
   How to cook delicious Ukrainian borscht? Pour the prepared meat with cold water, bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes. After the specified time has passed, drain the broth, rinse the meat with cold water and transfer it to another pan filled 2/3 with water. Bring to a boil again and simmer over low heat for several hours.
2. 
   Cut the onion and carrots randomly into large pieces, add to the broth and continue cooking. Strain the finished broth, discard the onions and carrots, and remove the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces. Place the diced potatoes into the strained broth and cook over low heat until tender.
3. 
   Cut the carrots and beets into strips, chop the onion into small cubes. Heat the frying pan, pour in vegetable oil and fry the onion until golden brown, then add the carrots to the onion and continue to simmer for about five minutes.
4. 
   Pour the beets into the same pan and add vegetable oil if necessary. Season the vegetables with tomato paste, sprinkle with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper at your discretion and leave to simmer for about ten minutes until fully cooked. If the vegetables do not have enough liquid, add a ladle of broth.
5. 
   Finely chop the cabbage.
6. 
   Checking the readiness of the potatoes. If the potato bars are boiled, then it’s time to add both fries, and then the shredded cabbage. Bring all ingredients to a boil and cook until the cabbage softens. At the end, add spices to taste and chopped garlic.
7. 
   Let the borscht brew and you can serve it with sour cream and bread.

Enjoy your meal!

How to cook real Ukrainian borscht with meat?

The versatility of this recipe lies in the fact that you can use any meat to prepare borscht and you will be satisfied with the result. And don’t miss the opportunity to use natural fat rendered from homemade lard instead of vegetable oil for frying.

Cooking time: 60 min.

Cooking time: 180 min.

Servings – 6.

Ingredients:

• Beef – 500 gr.
• Beetroot – 4 pcs.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Red onion – 1 pc.
• Green onion – 1 bunch.
• Potatoes – 4 pcs.
• White cabbage – 400 gr.
• Tomato paste – 2 tbsp.
• Lard - for frying.
• Garlic – 5 cloves.
• Dill – 1 bunch.
• Lemon juice – 3 tbsp.
• Sour cream - to taste.
• Salt - to taste.
• Sugar - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Before cooking, beef meat must be washed, excess veins removed and cooked in cold water for 40-50 minutes. After this time, take out the meat and cut into portions.

2. Let's move on to preparing vegetables for our borscht. Cut potatoes, onions, carrots and cabbage into small pieces.

3. For variety, cut some of the beets into thin strips, and grate some on a coarse grater.

4. Add chopped potatoes and cabbage to the boiling broth. Add salt to your taste and cook until the potatoes are fully cooked.

5. To prepare the borscht dressing, fry the pieces of bacon until a light golden hue appears.

6. Transfer the cracklings to a separate container, and fry the onions and carrots in the rendered fat until soft.

7. Season the stewed vegetables with the required amount of tomato paste and lemon juice. Continue to simmer over low heat.

8. Add chopped beets to the dressing and pour in a ladle of broth.Bring the beetroot sticks to a state of semi-preparedness over low heat.

9. Add grated beets, bay leaves, salt, sugar and the necessary spices to the soft beets. Continue simmering for a couple more minutes.

10. Add ready-made beetroot dressing and finely chopped herbs to your boiling broth.

11. Finely chop the cracklings and grind with garlic.

12. Add the mashed mixture to the borscht and cover with a lid, let the borscht steep for at least 20 minutes at room temperature. Add sour cream, chopped herbs and serve.

Enjoy your meal!

Fragrant and rich Ukrainian borscht with beef

The beef broth is not only clear, but also rich. And with the addition of fragrant baked beets, borscht will appear on your table much more often.

Cooking time: 60 min.

Cooking time: 40-50 min.

Servings – 6-8.

Ingredients:

• Beef – 1000 gr.
• Beetroot – 3 pcs.
• Potatoes – 3 pcs.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Tomato paste – 200 gr.
• Lemon juice – 3 tbsp.
• Garlic – 5 cloves.
• Bay leaf – 3 pcs.
• Granulated sugar – 3 tbsp.
• Salt - to taste.
• Ground black pepper - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees to bake the beets. We thoroughly wash the beef, remove unnecessary veins and send it to the pan to cook. Bring to a boil. During the cooking process, do not forget to remove the foam that forms on the surface of the water with a spoon.

2. While the broth is cooking, wash the beets and wrap tightly in foil. Bake in the oven for two hours until soft. Adjust the time depending on the features of the oven and the size of the beets.

3.Cut the onion into small pieces and send it to a heated frying pan to fry until golden brown, add the carrots chopped on a coarse grater to the onion and simmer all together until tender.

4. When the beets are baked, let them cool completely and peel them. The beets can be grated on a coarse grater or cut into medium-sized strips.

5. Season the beets with tomato paste and simmer in a frying pan for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze the garlic here, add lemon juice, salt, sugar, pepper. Don't be afraid to add as many spices as possible to achieve a rich flavor. Fill the roast with water and simmer for an additional five minutes. Once ready, leave until next use.

6. After 2.5 hours of cooking the broth, take out the meat and cut it into separate pieces.

7. Add potatoes and bay leaves to the prepared broth and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add two dressings to the broth and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.

8. At the very end of cooking, add pieces of meat to the soup and taste it. You can adjust the amount of salt, sugar, lemon juice according to your preferences. We leave the borscht to steep and only after a while we serve it to the table.

Enjoy your meal!

Step-by-step recipe for preparing Ukrainian borscht with pampushki

If you also have a question about what you can complement the first course with instead of traditional wheat bread, then it’s time to learn how to cook garlic dumplings.

Cooking time: 60 min.

Cooking time: 40-50 min.

Servings – 8-10.

Ingredients:

• Pork bones – 500 gr.
• Beets – 250 gr.
• Potatoes – 3 pcs.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• White cabbage – ½ pc.
• Tomato paste – 70 gr.
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp.
• Sour cream – 200 ml.
• Onion – 1 pc.
• Red bell pepper – 1 pc.
• Bay leaf – 3 pcs.
• Granulated sugar – 1 tbsp.
• Salt - to taste.
• Ground black pepper - to taste.
• Vegetable oil - for frying.
• Dill – ½ bunch.
• Green onions - a bunch.

For donuts:

• Water – 200 ml.
• Milk – 100 ml.
• Wheat flour – 450 gr.
• Dry yeast – 1.5 tsp.
• Granulated sugar – 1 tsp.
• Salt – ½ tsp.
• Vegetable oil – 30ml.

For refueling:

• Salt – 1 tsp.
• Sunflower oil – 2 tbsp.
• Garlic – 3 cloves.
• Water – 50 ml.
• Dill – 1/2 bunch.

Cooking process:

1. We will cook in a five-liter saucepan. The amount of ingredients can be changed depending on the volume of your container. Wash the pork bones and cook over medium heat until boiling. As soon as the water boils, separately add the meat previously removed from the bones. Due to this, the meat will be juicy and soft. Cook the broth over low heat for three hours, without letting the broth boil. Be sure to skim any foam or grease from the surface.

2. Before preparing the frying, the beets can be baked in foil for an hour until they are soft. And then peel and cut into thin strips. In order to save time, you can do without this and immediately send the raw beets to stew. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil and place the beets there, season with tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar, adding a little water. To dilute the taste with sourness, sprinkle with lemon juice and leave to simmer over low heat.

3. Fry the diced onion and coarsely grated carrots in vegetable oil for two minutes until golden brown. While the vegetables are stewing, cut the potatoes into cubes and shred the cabbage into small strips.

4.Add the cabbage and potatoes to the pan with the broth and cook until the potatoes are soft. After 10 minutes, add the sauteed beets, carrots and onions to the almost finished borscht and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it brew under the lid closed. In the meantime, let's move on to making donuts.

5. For the donuts, in a separate container, combine warm water, warm milk, sifted wheat flour, yeast and sugar with salt. Knead the dough and place it on a floured surface. Knead until elastic, on average this takes about five minutes. Transfer the dough to a new container, previously greased with oil, cover with film or a towel and set aside for 1.5 hours until the dough increases in size.

6. Divide the finished dough into balls. The quantity depends on the size of the ball. Grease a baking sheet with sunflower oil and cover with parchment paper. While the oven preheats to 190 degrees, leave the balls for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place.

7. Before putting the baking sheet in the oven, brush the donuts with milk using a brush. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

8. We determine complete readiness by their appearance. They should expand and brown well.

9. For the dressing, grind the garlic with salt, water at room temperature and vegetable oil. You can use either a mortar or a blender. Chop the dill and add to the liquid mass, mix well. And immediately pour garlic dressing over the finished donuts.

10. Real borscht with donuts is ready. Season with sour cream, green onions and serve.

Enjoy your meal!

Incredibly tasty and aromatic beet borscht with dumplings

Dumplings for poultry borscht can be prepared not only from wheat, but also from buckwheat and corn flour, depending on your taste preferences. Be sure that dumplings will not leave you indifferent and will appear on your table not only as an addition to the main dish, but also as an independent side dish.

Cooking time: 60 min.

Cooking time: 40-50 min.

Servings – 8-10.

Ingredients:

• Duck or goose meat – 300 gr.
• Beets – 1 pc.
• White cabbage – 400 gr.
• Potatoes – 3 pcs.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Onion – 2 pcs.
• Tomatoes
• Tomato paste – 0.5 tbsp.
• Sour cream – 0.5 tbsp.
• Parsley – 1 bunch.
• Dill - a bunch.
• Garlic – 1 head.
• Black peppercorns – 5 pcs.
• Bay leaf – 2-3 pcs.
• Salt - to taste.
• Vegetable oil - for frying.

For dumplings:

• Wheat flour – 1 tbsp.
• Boiling water – 1 tbsp.
• Egg – 1 pc.

Cooking process:

1. Cook duck broth with allspice and bay leaf. Strain the broth, remove all the bones and add the meat. Place the strained broth on the fire and bring to a boil. Remove duck meat from bones.

2. Chop the vegetables. Peel carrots, beets, tomatoes and cut into pieces as desired. We do the same with onions.

3. Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes and add to the pan with the meat.

4. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil over medium heat and fry the onion until golden brown. Immediately combine the previously chopped vegetables, not forgetting to stir.

5. Add tomato paste, salt and other spices to your taste to the stewed vegetables. You can simmer with the lid open. Make sure there is liquid in the pan and the vegetables do not burn.

6.As soon as the roasted beets and carrots have become soft and juicy, add it to the borscht and cook the borscht for another 10 minutes. Shred the cabbage into thin, long strips and pour into the pan. Add bay leaf and peppercorns.

7. Chop the greens and add them to the borscht.

8. Let's start preparing dumplings. Pour a glass of boiling water over the flour and stir quickly until the flour boils. Let the dough cool and beat in the egg. Stir well and add the remaining flour. The dough should have a slightly runny consistency. Roll it into a thin sausage and cut into small pieces.

9. Place the dumplings in boiled water until they float to the surface. And put them in borscht. Mix everything and cook the borscht for about five minutes. Let it brew and serve with sour cream.

Enjoy your meal!

A simple and tasty recipe for Ukrainian borscht with beans

Borscht with beans can saturate the body no worse than any meat dish, while all the necessary vitamins and beneficial microelements are preserved in the beans even after heat treatment. To prepare such borscht, it is important to soak it in time and open it in advance.

Cooking time: 50-60 min.

Cooking time: 120 min.

Portions – 7-8.

Ingredients:

• Pork ribs – 800 gr.
• Potatoes – 1000 gr.
• White cabbage – 500 gr.
• Carrots – 150 gr.
• Onions – 200 gr.
• Beets – 350 gr.
• Beans – 150 gr.
• Garlic – 3-4 cloves
• Tomato paste – 3 tbsp.
• Bay leaf - 2-3 pcs.
• Salt - to taste.
• Ground black pepper - to taste.
• Vegetable oil - for frying.

Cooking process:

1. Soak the beans in cold water for at least a couple of hours, but for ease of preparation we recommend soaking them overnight. And then boil for an hour.

2.Wash the pork ribs and pour four liters of cold water. Place on medium heat and wait for the broth to boil. It is important to remove the scale in time. Cook for one hour.

3. While the broth is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Cut the potatoes into small cubes, shred the cabbage thinly. Add the potatoes to the meat and cook for 20 minutes until fully cooked. During this time we will have time to prepare the frying.

4. Roughly chop the onion. Grate the carrots on a fine grater. Grate the beets on a coarse grater. Heat a frying pan in vegetable oil and let the onions, carrots and beets brown. Add bay leaf and leave to simmer. To prevent the vegetables from burning and drying out, add a ladleful of broth and add tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes.

5. All contents are prepared, all that remains is to add the necessary ingredients to the borscht. Add chopped cabbage and boiled beans to the pan.

6. By this time, the roast should be cooked and leave behind a rich aroma. Transfer the vegetables to the pan and continue to cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

7. Ready-made borscht will be able to fully reveal all its taste qualities if you let it brew for as long as possible. Serve with sour cream, chopped garlic and fresh bread.

We wish you bon appetit!

Hearty and rich Ukrainian borscht with lard and garlic

This version of borscht is not a dietary one, but it is suitable for all lovers of Ukrainian rich and nutritious borscht. We offer to enhance the taste and add a unique aroma by adding a dressing made from grated lard and garlic.

Cooking time: 60 min.

Cooking time: 180 min.

Servings – 7.

Ingredients:

• Meat (any) – 500 gr.
• Beets – 200 gr.
• White cabbage – 150 gr.
• Potatoes – 110 gr.
• Carrots – 100 ml.
• Lard – 200 gr
• Tomato paste – 2 tbsp.
• Apple cider vinegar (9%) – 3 tsp.
• Salt - to taste.
• Granulated sugar – 2 tsp.
• Garlic – 4 cloves.
• Greens - to taste.
• Bell pepper – 1 pc.
• Water – 2 l.
• Sour cream - to taste.
• Vegetable oil - for frying.

Cooking process:

1. We wash, peel and cut the pre-needed vegetables in the manner usual for you. Wash the meat and place it in warm salted water. Bring to a boil, skim off the accumulated foam and continue cooking for an hour.

2. Heat the saucepan and fill it with sunflower oil. Add chopped beets to the heated oil, season with salt and sugar to taste. Mix thoroughly and continue to simmer for a couple of minutes until it releases its juice.

3. Add tomato paste and vinegar to the beets. Acidic tomato paste will help preserve the color and structure of the beets.

4. Now add some water and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.

5. Pour water into a separate pan, add the remaining beets and a little vinegar. Leave on the stove until the first bubbles appear.

6. Sauté onions and carrots. Heat a frying pan with oil and cook the onion over medium heat until golden brown.

7. When the onions are fried until half cooked, add the carrots and simmer for 10-15 minutes. The volume of the carrots will decrease slightly, and the frying will acquire a pleasant golden color. Then we leave the frying to wait in the wings.

8. Let’s move on to preparing the borscht dressing from lard, garlic and herbs. Remove the skin from the lard and cut into cubes. We put it all into the blender.In the same bowl add four cloves of garlic, chopped herbs, ground pepper and sweet bell pepper.

9. The main stages of preparing borscht are over and we begin to assemble all the components. Place chopped potatoes and shredded cabbage into the boiling broth and keep on medium heat for 10 minutes.

10. Next, add the frying mixture to the borscht and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Add spices to your liking and mix.

11. Add the prepared beetroot paint with vinegar to the pan with the beets. Bring the borscht to a boil and let it brew.

12. Serving. Add sour cream, dressing and start the meal.

Bon appetit!

Light and dietary Ukrainian borscht with chicken

Borscht made with chicken broth turns out to be as light, nutritious and low-fat as possible, which is an important point when following a diet.

Cooking time: 40 min.

Cooking time: 120 min.

Servings – 5.

Ingredients:

• Beans - 100 gr.
• Beets - 2 pcs.
• Carrots - 1 pc.
• Onion - 1 pc.
• White cabbage - 200 gr.
• Potatoes - 4 pcs.
• Chicken meat - 400 gr.
• Bell pepper - 2 pcs.
• spices - to taste.
• Ground black pepper - to taste.
• Bay leaf – 2 pcs.
• Granulated sugar - to taste.
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp.

Cooking process:

1. Fill the beans with cold water and leave for at least four hours, or preferably overnight.

2. Then cook until fully cooked for about an hour. The time may vary depending on the size and soaking time of the beans.

3. We will bake beets for borscht in foil in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for one hour. With this method of preparation, beets retain useful microelements and vitamins.Ready beets are distinguished by their rich burgundy color and softness.

4. Let's start preparing the chicken broth. Take an approximately three-liter pan, fill it with water and boil the prepared chicken meat for 25-30 minutes. Add the whole peeled onion to the water. It is important not to forget to descale.

5. Cut the washed, peeled potatoes into cubes and chop the carrots randomly. And add the prepared vegetables to the broth. Cook for 10 minutes.

6. Pour finely shredded cabbage, boiled beans and bell pepper pulp into the pan. To do this, grate the peeled pepper on a fine grater.

7. Cut the peeled baked beets into not very small strips and place in a saucepan. Season the borscht as desired with salt, ground black pepper, bay leaf, sugar and lemon juice. Boil the finished borscht for 10-15 minutes and let it sit before serving. Traditionally served with sour cream, bread and lard.

Bon appetit!