A hearty, rich, delicious Ukrainian borsch can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A plate of borscht will replace the first, second and third together. And if the soups are appetizing only freshly brewed, and the next day the taste is not the same, then Ukrainian borsch can be cooked for a whole week, and every day it will, insisting, become more delicious!
Real Ukrainian borscht is a great first course, and anyone who can cook it is worthy of the honorary title of a real hostess (or chef). Cooking borscht is not as difficult as novice chefs might think. Only an hour of time - and your households are provided with a delicious lunch for a few days.
But, in order for your Ukrainian borscht to be tasty and beautiful, appetizing and bright, you need to know the small but important nuances of its preparation. These little “borsch” secrets that can be useful for both beginners and experienced cooks, I will now share with you.
Borscht has an interesting feature: each housewife has his own, with a unique taste. Even if two people cook borscht in one recipe with the same set of ingredients, the taste of each will be different. And there are a great many recipes for Ukrainian borscht.
You can cook a rich soup with meat - or lean, but equally nourishing - with beans; You can cook borscht on lard or chicken broth; very tasty and light - “young” summer borschik from early vegetables ... But now I suggest you master the classic recipe of Ukrainian borscht.
Ingredients for Ukrainian borscht
At 3-3, 5 liters of water:
- 300 g of beef, pork or 2-3 chicken legs;
- Half a glass of dry beans;
- 5-7 medium potatoes;
- 1-2 medium carrots;
- 1 onion;
- 1/4 of small cabbage or half of small;
- 1 beet (beet) - certainly bright, beautiful!
Choosing on the market, scrape the skin: pale pink color does not fit, you need a deep, burgundy. Then the soup will get rich color.
- Tomato paste - 1-2 tbsp. l
You can replace 2-3 with fresh or canned tomatoes, removing the skin from them, rubbing them on a large grater and then rubbing them through a sieve. Great, there is homemade tomato juice: borscht cooked on it is healthier and more natural, for kids it is the most suitable option.
- 1 tbsp. l with top of salt;
- 1 tbsp. l 9% vinegar;
- 1-2 cloves of garlic;
- A few sprigs of parsley, dill or green onion feathers.
Method of cooking Ukrainian borscht
We start cooking with beans and meat, as they cook longer than other foods. It is better to boil the beans separately, and then add to the almost ready soup. This is especially true of dark varieties - brown beans give the broth a dark color.
So, soak the beans in clean cold water for half an hour, and then in the same water set to boil over medium heat until soft. Beans will be ready in 40-45 minutes. Periodically we look under the cover and, as necessary, we add water.
Cut the meat into small pieces, dip into a small amount of cold water and boil until boiling. Pour the first water along with the foam, pour clean water and set to cook further with a gentle boil for 30-35 minutes. Meanwhile, clean and wash the vegetables.
I usually cook Ukrainian borsch with carrot-onion zazharka, giving it a beautiful golden hue. But there is a more dietary option - soup without zazharki on broth. If you put a good piece of meat with a little fat in the borsch, or a fat chicken leg, you can add carrots and onions in pieces, without frying. But the Ukrainian borscht on roasting and without meat turns out delicious.
To make a fry, heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan. We cut the onion into small pieces, pour it into the pan and, stirring, pass over 2-3 minutes. Onions should not fry, and become slightly transparent and soft.
Carrot rub on a large grater and add to the onion, stir. Fry for a couple of minutes and add the tomato.
If you have taken tomato paste, then you can mix and turn it off, and if you have tomato juice or grated tomatoes, you need to hold the zazharka on a small fire for a while, so that the excess liquid evaporates.
When the meat has cooked for 30-40 minutes, pour water into the saucepan, fill it with 3/4, sprinkle the diced potatoes, stir, cover with a lid.
Now we will add all the ingredients in turn. Put the potatoes - thinly chop cabbage. When the water begins to boil again, add cabbage to the pan, stir again and cover.
When the cabbage leaves for 2-3 minutes, add a fry, mix again. This is how beautiful, our red-golden borsch became reddish-golden. And it will be even more beautiful!
It's time to salt the borsch: for 3-3, 5 l of water, I put a full, with a top, a tablespoon of salt, and mix.
Then boil the borscht with a slight boil for 5-7 minutes, and in the meantime, rub it on a coarse grater - add it at the very end of the preparation so that the borscht will retain its bright color. There is also a culinary secret: putting the grated beets in the pan, immediately add a tablespoon of 9% vinegar and mix. You probably know that vinegar is used as a paint fixer - when rinsing new clothes, painting Easter eggs - and in borsch too. Now Ukrainian borscht will not grow up, but will remain ruby!
Reduce the light so that the soup boils slowly and boil for 2-3 minutes. It remains to add garlic and herbs. Additional spices - pepper-peas, bay leaf - can be put, but Ukrainian borsch is good without them. But a clove or two of garlic, grated on a fine grater and added to borscht, will give it a particularly appetizing aroma, taste, and in winter will protect against colds.
If someone in the family (especially children) does not like to eat garlic while holding it, then it is possible to “disguise” a useful supplement in a plate.
Add chopped greens and grated garlic to the Ukrainian borsch, boil for 1-2 minutes a little, so that the vitamins are preserved and the soup is not sour as it happens if you put raw vegetables and do not have to boil them - and turn them off. Ukrainian borsch is ready!
Serving Ukrainian borsch with cool sour cream. And especially delicious with rye bread, the crust of which is rubbed with garlic.
Enjoy your meal!
