Thursday, September 27, 2012

Almost Traditional Ukrainian Borscht


10-12 Medium Beets (peeled and diced)
2 Onions (diced)
8 strips of bacon diced
½ can tomato paste
6 carrots (shredded)
½ head of white cabbage (shredded)
2 Russet Potatoes (diced)
8-9 tomatoes (peeled and diced or canned)
1 L beef stock
1-2 L water

First, take your bacon and dice it very small. Then, in a deep soup pot, brown off the bacon. Make sure not to let it get crispy, just brown.  
 
 

TIP: If you put some water (about ½ cup) in with the bacon it will evenly distribute the heat and render of the fat. Once this is done, the water will evaporate off and you will be left with just the oil and the bacon will then brown perfectly. This will make it easier to control and also will leave you with uniformly browned or crisped bacon. This works every time.

Drain off the fat into a small bowl and take the bacon out of the pot. Keep the fat, we will use this later. You will be left with some little brown bits on the bottom of the stock pot now. This is total flavour, so pour the beef stock and water in there and scrape the bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Bring the stock to a simmer while you peel and dice the beets.

Put the beets in the simmering stock and work on the rest of the veg. Once the beets have simmered for a few minutes, add the bacon. This will give a nice subtle smoky undertone to the soup. The bacon is totally untraditional, but hey, bacon is awesome and Ukrainians love the stuff too, so why not!

Once you have simmered the beets for 15 minutes or so, put in the shredded carrot, diced potato, tomatoes, and cabbage. Let this simmer.

Take a skillet out and put some of the bacon fat in it on medium-high.  Dice the onions and sweat them in the pan. Do not brown them; just cook them until they are translucent. Now add the tomato paste to the onions. Stir it around to incorporate it and cook it for a few minutes. This will intensify the flavour. Add about ¼ cup of water to the skillet and dissolve the tomato paste in it and add this to the pot.
 
 

Simmer the entire soup for a couple of hours.
 

Serve with fresh dill and a dollop of sour crème….and a big shot of vodka!

За здоровя!
 
 

 

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