Borscht – Eastern European Beetroot Soup
The iconic Slavic beetroot soup: deep ruby, sweet-and-sour and comforting, with tender beef, cabbage and potato. Crowned with sour cream and dill, and like any good borscht, better the next day.
The vinegar is what fixes the color. Beetroot cooked without acid turns a dull brown; the vinegar and sugar go in with the grated beet in the pan, ten minutes before it meets the broth, and that is what keeps the ruby.
The beet is grated raw, not boiled first — cooked whole it loses both color and sweetness into the water.
Ingredients
- 500 g bone-in beef (shank or brisket)
- 2 l water
- 3 medium raw beets (beetroot), grated
- 1/4 white cabbage, finely shredded
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp wine vinegar (or the juice of half a lemon)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- Oil, salt and pepper, to taste
- Sour cream and fresh dill, to serve
Method
- 1
Simmer the beef with the bay leaf in the salted water over low heat for about 40 minutes, skimming at the start, until you have a flavorful broth and tender meat. Take the meat out, shred it and strain the broth.
- 2
In a skillet (frying pan) with oil, cook the onion, the carrot and the garlic. Add the grated beet, the tomato paste, the vinegar and the sugar, and cook for 10 minutes over low heat: the acid is what fixes the characteristic ruby color.
- 3
Return the broth to the pot, add the potato and the cabbage, and cook for 15 minutes.
- 4
Add the beet mixture and the shredded meat, and cook 10 minutes more over gentle heat. Adjust the salt, the pepper and the sweet-sour balance.
- 5
Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before serving (or until the next day, when it is at its best), with a good spoonful of sour cream and fresh dill on top.
Slavic Cooking: Tradition, Technique and Comfort
Slavic cooking does something few other kitchens do as well: it turns simple ingredients into unforgettable dishes. Here are the Eastern European classics — from delicate syrniki to a warming buckwheat soup — each one written so the authentic, familiar flavor actually comes out. If you want food that warms from the inside and surprises your guests with something unfamiliar, this is the place.
