Who usually eats soup for breakfast?
Borscht (борщ) is my favourite Ukrainian dish at all and it was one of my first breakfasts too! Since that day I tasted Ukraine and felt inside Ukrainian culture for the first time! :)
During my 46 days of stay I ate it more than once, it is commonly eaten for lunch and dinner and I can say that the homemade one, cooked by a mum, is the best you can find. :)
Beets and dill are the ones which make it amazing and deeply Ukrainian!
Why?
Because beets are Borscht's main ingredient and they give it an unusual pink-ruby red colour while dills are that one particular taste which my friends and I immediatly recognize as Ukrainian. It's that lovely flavour you'll find on 9 /10 of Ukrainian dishes.
Classic ukrainian Recipe
Ingredients:
2 large or 3 medium beets, thoroughly washed 2 large or 3 medium potatoes, sliced into bite-sized pieces 4 Tbsp of sunflower oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 carrots, grated 1/2 head of cabbage, thinly chopped (see picture) 1 can of kidney beans with their juice 2 bay leaves 10 cups water 6 cups chicken broth 5 Tbsp ketchup 4 Tbsp lemon juice 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper 1 Tbsp chopped dill
Preparation:
Fill a large soup pot with 10 cups of water. Add 2-3 beets. Cover and boil for about 1 hour. Smoothly pierce the beets with a butter knife, remove them from water and set them aside to cool. Keep the water. Slice 3 potatoes and add them into the same water and boil for 15-20 minutes.
Grate both carrots and dice one onion. Add 4 Tbsp of sunflower oil to the skillet and saute vegetables til they are soft (7-10 minutes).
Stir in ketchup when they are almost cooked. Meanwhile, thinly shred ½ a cabbage and add it to the soup pot when the potatoes are halfway done.
Next, peel and slice the beets into match sticks and add them back to the pot. Add 6 cups of chicken broth, lemon juice, pepper, bay leaves and a can of kidney beans (with their juice) to the pot. Add the sauteed carrots and onion to the pot along with chopped dill.
Cook again for 5-10 minutes, until the cabbage is done. Taste it and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve with a dollop of smetana (sour cream).
смачного! (smachnoho) Buon Appetito!
There are variations of the classic ukranian recipe, like the russian one, the one with meat.
Check this Ukrainian couple food blog to find them: http://natashaskitchen.com
Did you like this article? SHARE it PLEASE with your friends and on your socials using #50shadesofukraine!
Do you want to read more about Ukraine? dive into the website and see the RELATED POSTS BELOW!