These recipes for borscht and cabbage soup and tips for their preparation are taken from the book "Culinary Help" by Ilya Lazerson.
Borscht
What is a Russian table, but without borscht ?! Or, even more so, Ukrainian? In general, I think that every housewife should first of all be able to cook borsch, and only then everything else. And we will start with the preparation of borscht.
Culinary literature offers two main methods of cooking it: raw beets are boiled in broth, or beets are boiled separately and seasoned in broth at the end of cooking, therefore, before talking about my preferences, I consider it appropriate to first give a sufficiently detailed description of these two methods that will help you, I hope, to draw the right conclusions.
So, the first way to cook borscht.
We cook broth: meat, meat and bone or chicken, it doesn't matter. It is necessary to take raw beets, wash them, peel them, cut them into strips (or grate them on a coarse grater - as you like) and spasse them.
Sauteing is a slow and gentle heating in fat without the formation of any crust of a certain product. I like sautéing in a mixture of vegetable and butter in a 1: 1 ratio.
Pass the beets in a deep and thick-walled pan, then add a little tomato and vinegar to it. I also like to add some sugar.
Why do beets need vinegar? Increasing the acidity of the environment prevents the loss of beet color. Beets in a pan are brought to readiness, that is, until soft. Remember adding vinegar lengthens the cooking time.If there was no acid, the beets would be ready faster, but color retention for borscht is incredibly important in my opinion.
While the beets are stewing, we prepare vegetables: cabbage and potatoes. Chop the cabbage into slices, cut the potatoes into slices, cubes or small wedges. Dip potatoes and cabbage into the finished broth, or rather potatoes or cabbage, depending on what takes longer to cook. Let's say that early cabbage cooks faster than potatoes, so we put the potatoes in the boiling broth first, and cabbage a little later. Late cabbage cooks at about the same time as potatoes, so they can be added at the same time.
In another frying pan, saute chopped or coarsely grated carrots and onion and celery root chopped in half rings. Now we have to "collect" the borscht together. In the beginning, or rather, when the cabbage and potatoes are almost ready, you need to put a vegetable sauté, that is, onions with carrots and celery root. Let the borscht boil and put in the stewed beets at the very last moment. Everything is brought to a boil again, and only then we season with spices: bay leaf and, for example, ground black pepper. Turn off the heating, cover with a lid and let the borscht brew a little.
At the very last moment, when the borscht has already been removed from heating, I like to put crushed garlic in it. The result is the Ukrainian version.
By the way, about the options. He said the "Ukrainian" version, and suddenly, by a simple association, the culinary term directed my thoughts to an area far from gastronomic pleasures: I remembered the sad story of the current division of the Black Sea Fleet ...
I thought: "What kind of borscht will ultimately be cooked on the Black Sea:" Ukrainian "or" Moscow "? .."
The question is difficult, isn't it? After all, we are talking about national priorities ... You cannot offend anyone. I dare to offer the only correct answer, in my opinion: thank God, there is also a recipe for "naval" borscht.
And how the sailors loved it and traditionally prepared it, even if they continue in the same way, if only everything was peaceful and good in Crimea! I hope my sad, simple joke with geopolitical overtones did not spoil your appetite?
And so that there is complete mutual understanding, I will briefly dwell on the peculiarities of the recipes and preparation of "Moscow" and "naval" borscht.
Borscht naval
In the era of the sailing fleet, going on long voyages, sailors took with them barrels of corned beef. Borscht was cooked with it, abundantly flavored with red pepper. Now corned beef has disappeared from our everyday life, borscht "naval" is prepared by putting smoked meats into it. For the rest, borscht is cooked as usual, but vegetables are cut into slices, and cabbage is cut into "checkered" (squares).
Moscow borsch
It is cooked without potatoes, chopped boiled meat, ham, sausages are added.
To prepare borscht in the second way, beets are used, pre-boiled whole, with a peel. In this case, the preparation of vegetables and carrots, onions and white roots will be slightly different. We sauté onion, carrot and celery root with vegetable oil and a little butter. Then add the tomato and some sugar. The vegetable sauté is ready.
The next stage of preparation is to clean the whole pre-boiled beets and cut them into strips or rub them on a coarse grater. And then we again "collect" borscht as follows.
Broth is a liquid base for borscht, cabbage, potatoes - all follow the same rules. Then sautéed is added: carrots, onions, white root, tomato with added sugar. At the very last moment, add grated or chopped boiled beets. This is how the preparation of borscht of the book is interpreted. This is all true. But practice makes its own adjustments.
For example, I always additionally acidify borscht, or rather not borscht, but a liquid base, which already has everything except beets. Pour some vinegar directly into the liquid and only then add the beets stewed with tomato, vinegar and sugar. With this method, the color is retained better. Vinegar, of course, you need to pour a reasonable amount, which will not make the borscht too sour.Strange as it may seem, cookbooks have not yet been written about this.
Now it becomes clear that the first method of cooking borsch with pre-chopped and then stewed beets is rather long and takes more time. The second method is faster, because, say, while the broth is being cooked, you can simultaneously cook the beets in another saucepan.
I really like to combine cooking broth and boiling beets in one saucepan. Naturally, you need to peel the beets and put the whole tuber directly into the broth. Then the broth will be ready at the same time as the beets. Of course, there should be no acid here, since the meat is still being cooked and it is important for us that the meat is soft, so that no additional reactions occur in our dish.
But the surface of the beets and the broth become brownish-brown, which is not very aesthetically pleasing. On the other hand, inside the beets are still bright and beautiful. Therefore, the discoloration of its upper layers does not matter. Further, the cooking process goes according to the second method, and when bright, chopped or grated ready-made beets fall into a pre-acidified base, then the primary brown color is completely lost and natural color prevails.
About my preferences: when I have time, I cook borscht in the first, long way, and when time is short, then in the second, faster way. I like the taste of borscht cooked according to the first method more, but the color is always more beautiful in borscht cooked using the second method.
And - a few words about potatoes in borscht. It is irrational to cook borscht for one dinner. It is customary to cook it for several days and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. In my opinion, this makes borscht tastier, like cabbage soup, by the way. However, if the borscht is meant to be used for several days, it is not very good to cook it with potatoes. Because potatoes already on the second day of storing borscht in the refrigerator becomes quite tough, since they are in the acidic environment of borscht. It turns out that it is preferable to cook borsch for 2-3 days without potatoes at all?
Smart people have found a way to cook borsch with potatoes without losing its taste when storing borsch. But this applies mainly to cooking it according to the first method. When beets are sauteed with tomato, vinegar and a little sugar, somewhere in the middle of this process, potatoes, naturally peeled and grated on a coarse grater, are added to the beets, mixed and brought to readiness together.
Grated potatoes will not be visible in the borscht, because they will be intensely colored with beet dye. But, nevertheless, its taste will be felt, potatoes in this form do not harden in borscht on the second and third days. And, importantly, potatoes improve the consistency of borscht. Previously, soups at the end of cooking were seasoned with flour puff so that their consistency was, as they say, rich. In the borscht, grated potatoes seem to replace the flour puff. Agree, potatoes in this situation look much nobler than a flour thickener.
Since I was born and raised in Ukraine, I have an idea of how tasty Ukrainian borsch with donuts is.
Pampushki, indeed, a good accompaniment for Ukrainian borscht. There are some points in their preparation that are interesting to dwell on.
Pampushki are made from not very rich yeast dough. An ordinary dough is prepared according to the usual rules. Its consistency is the same as for buns, buns or pies. The dough is divided into pieces, well, maybe, weighing 60 grams each. Then the pieces are rolled into the correct balls and placed on a prepared baking sheet, greased with vegetable oil. The balls are placed at a certain distance from each other.
Please pay attention to one important feature when placing balls on a baking sheet: the distance between them should be such that in the oven during baking, when the dough expands, the balls will touch each other and stick together. The ability to correctly determine the distance between the balls will come with experience.Of course, it is imperative to proof the dough, that is, hold the baking sheet with the balls in a warm, draft-free place so that the balls increase significantly in volume (distance, as the cooks say. By the way, they do the same in the manufacture of other types of baked goods ).
Lubrication of the surface of the balls with oil, leon or something else is excluded.
Well, then - into the stove!
When the dough is baked and the baking sheet is removed from the oven, the product is divided into separate donuts by hand while still warm.
It remains to prepare gravy for them. Why, when cooking borscht, we pour and save about half a glass (or even less) of a good strong broth. To increase the concentration and bring out the flavor of the broth more, you can additionally evaporate it slightly. Add vegetable oil and garlic crushed with salt to this broth. It turns out, if you use the confectionery term, a kind of "icing" for donuts.
Then our liquid garlic-oil-bouillon “glaze” is applied to the surface of the donuts with a soft brush (or perhaps by hand!). The donuts for Ukrainian borsch are unusually good!
CHEF'S TIPS
It is good to tint borscht with beet kvass - a little kvass is poured into the ready-made, but still slightly boiling borscht and immediately removed from the stove, covered with a lid. Kvass is prepared simply - the raw beets are washed, peeled, cut into arbitrary slices, poured with cold water, put in a warm place, covered with gauze and "forgotten" there for six to seven days. Then put it in the refrigerator for a few more days. Then the kvass is filtered and kept tightly closed in the refrigerator. (You can freeze it in small plastic containers and use one portion of kvass each time.) Before you put stewed or pre-boiled and chopped beets into the boiling broth, it should be acidified - this way the borsch will retain its color better.
A few minutes before readiness, put a little ready-made mustard into the borscht - this way the texture of the borscht will become more saturated, and the taste will acquire a specific flow.
It is better to put sugar used in cooking borscht in beets before stewing them - its taste will become more intense
Borsch Lvovsky
400 g bones, 4 sausages, 2 medium beets, 4 potatoes, 1 carrot, parsley root, 1 onion, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of ghee, 1 tbsp. spoon of 3% vinegar, 2.5 tbsp. tablespoons of tomato puree, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar, black peppercorns, bay leaves, herbs, salt.
Rinse the beets and cook in a peel in salted water with the addition of vinegar until half cooked, then remove from the water, peel, cut into strips and simmer with tomato puree for 20-30 minutes. Put potatoes, cut into wedges, into strained bone broth, bring to a boil, add prepared beets, lightly fried carrots, parsley and onions, cut into strips, sugar, bay leaf, hot peppercorns, salt and cook until tender. Pour beet kvass into ready-made, infused borscht for 30-40 minutes. When serving, put finely chopped boiled sausages, sour cream and sprinkle with dill on a plate.
Poltava borsch with dumplings
300 g of goose or chicken 2 medium beets 1/4 head of cabbage, 3 potatoes, 1/2 carrots, parsley root, 1 onion, a piece of bacon, 1 tbsp. spoon of pork lard, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of tomato puree, 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar, 1 tbsp. spoon of 3%; vinegar, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sour cream, bay leaf, dill or parsley, salt. For dumplings: 0.5 glass of wheat or buckwheat flour, 1 egg, 200 ml of water or broth.
Cook borscht in chicken or goose broth Cut beets, roots and onions into slices and cook in the same way as for Ukrainian borscht. Put diced potatoes, shredded cabbage in strained boiling broth and cook for 10-15 minutes, then add beets with onions and roots, cook until tender, remove from heat and let it brew for 15-20 minutes. To prepare dumplings, add a third of flour to boiling water, stir well and remove from heat.After cooling, add the eggs, the remaining flour to the dough, mix well, and then collect the dough with a tablespoon, dip in boiling salted water and cook until tender.
Borscht galitsky
400 g bones, 2 medium beets, 1/4 head of cabbage, 3 potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 onion, parsley root, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of tomato puree, 2 tsp flour, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of ghee, 200 ml of beet kvass, sour cream, bay leaf, black peppercorns, salt, herbs.
Cut the beets into slices and simmer with tomato puree and beetroot kvass. At the same time, slightly sauté the sliced parsley, carrots and onions with flour. Put finely chopped cabbage and potatoes in bone broth and cook for 10-15 minutes. Then add the stewed beets, sauteed roots, bay leaves, allspice peas, salt and cook until tender. Let the borscht brew for 30-40 minutes and pour the boiled beet kvass into it.
Belarusian borsch
400 g ham bones, 300 g beef brisket, 2 sausages, 2 medium beets, 3 potatoes, 1 carrot, parsley root, 1 onion, 4 tbsp. spoons of tomato puree, 2 tbsp. spoons of pork lard, 2 tsp flour, 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar, 1 tbsp. spoon of 3% vinegar, 3 tbsp. tablespoons of sour cream, bay leaf, ground black pepper, salt, herbs.
Cook the bones from the ham together with the beef brisket. Cut carrots, parsley and onions into strips and sauté in lard for 10 minutes, then add tomato puree and sauté for another 10 min. Boil the beets in a peel, peel and chop. Put potatoes cut into wedges in the broth, bring to a boil, put boiled beets, sautéed flour, roots, onions, bay leaves, black pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes. At the end, season the borsch with sugar and vinegar. When serving, put meat, sausages, sour cream in a plate and sprinkle with herbs.
Moldavian borsch
400 g chicken, 4 potatoes, 1 carrot, parsley root, 1 onion, 2 tsp flour, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of chicken fat, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of 3% vinegar, 2-3 tbsp. tablespoons of sour cream, red pepper, herbs, salt.
Cut carrots, onions, parsley into strips, lightly sauté them in chicken fat, pour in vinegar and evaporate. Put potatoes in chicken broth and cook until half cooked, then add browned roots and onions, season with toasted flour, ground red pepper, salt and bring to readiness. When serving, put a piece of chicken, sour cream on a plate and sprinkle with herbs.
Borscht according to Komi customs
400 g beef (brisket), 4 potatoes, 2 medium beets, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 tbsp. millet spoons, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of sour cream, a glass of kefir, salt.
Wash the beef brisket, chop it together with the bone into 3-4 pieces, put in a clay pot, pour cold water and cook. After 20-30 minutes, add washed millet, thinly sliced potatoes, beets and carrots and cook until tender. Just before the end of cooking, pour in kefir and salt. Serve borscht on the table in a bowl in which it was cooked sprinkle with chopped onions and add sour cream.
