Easy Authentic Traditional Ukrainian Borscht Recipe

Easy Authentic Traditional Ukrainian Borscht Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Serve this hearty beetroot soup with a slice of toasted rye bread or sourdough bread (personal preference) and you have yourself a true experience of enjoying a traditional Ukrainian daily meal!

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 20

Servings: 10

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian

Calories: 340

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

Optional Ingredients

1 lbs beef stew meat On the bone beef or chicken thighs will work too!
1 15 oz can of cannellini beans Be sure to adjust liquids accordingly if you're adding both: meat and beans

Main Ingredients

15 cups purified/filtered water
3 medium beets. Peeled and grated
3 large potatoes. Cubed into bite size pieces
½ small green cabbage. About 5 cups. Thinly sliced
2-3 medium carrots. Grated
2 medium onions. 1 Diced 1 whole 1 whole onion is to make beef broth
2 fresh garlic cloves. Minced
3 tbsp tomato paste Or substitute with 4 tbsp of ketchup but I highly suggest using the paste
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp vinegar I use organic apple cider vinegar. White is also acceptable
¼-1 tsp ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp of salt
½ tsp of sugar Maple sugar/syrup works too
¼ cup finely chopped dill You can also do half parsley and half dill
2-4 tbsp avocado oil
Garnish: Sour cream or yogurt and dill/parsley
Serve with dark rye bread, sourdough bread, or garlic and dill pampushki (buns)

Equipment

1 Stock Pot Stainless Steel Pot or a Dutch Oven Ceramic Pot is best to avoid toxins
1 Box Grater This one is my absolute favorite!
1 Ceramic Skillet

Method

Wash the meat in cold water and trim off fat, cut into bite size pieces and place in a large stock pot (or 6qt crock pot) with 15 cups of cold water, 1 medium onion, and 1 Tbsp salt. Cover and bring to a boil. NOTE: It's important to cover the pot in order for meat to really become tender and lock in all of the flavors.
Once boiling, lower the heat and gently remove the fat foamy layer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, wash, peel, grate, and chop all of the veggies.
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp avocado oil, swirl to coat. Add beets, vinegar, pinch of salt & pepper. Saute 2-3 minutes then add sugar and tomato paste. Cover and simmer on low heat another 10 minutes until soft, mixing occasionally. Remove from skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, return heat to medium temperature, add 1 tbsp avocado oil and add onions and carrots. Saute 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add beets back into the skillet, mix to combine and set aside.
At 30 minute mark, add cubed potatoes and thinly sliced cabbage to the pot. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
Add sauteed vegetables, bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste increase temperature to medium heat and bring to boil. Stir. Cover and let simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add freshly chopped dill/parsley and garlic. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Cooking process can seem long and tedious but if you get everything prepped first, it should go fairly quickly. After a few times of making this recipe, you'll be a pro ;)

Do not use any kind of pickled beets, I have tried them all hoping to cut a corner, although it's still tasty it is just not the same.

Traditional oils to make "zazharka" (step..) in would be sunflower oil, but I personally use the avocado oil as the healthier alternative.

I omitted beans in this recipe due to one of the picky eaters in the house, however, adding 1 can of red kidney beans towards the last 5-10 minutes of cooking is acceptable. If you do add beans, be sure to either cut out 1 potato or add 1 additional cup of water to the soup.

Using a food processor, like this one: Food Processor to grate beets, carrots, and cabbage will make the prep go quicker. I have a Vitamix and use this attachment: Vitamix Food Processor Attachment