A borscht that takes its time
Our Sunday recipe: roasted beetroot, a rich broth and an hour in which the kitchen becomes the warmest place in the house.
Every family has its own borscht, and this one claims no absolute truth. It’s simply the recipe that simmers in our kitchen every Sunday from October to March.
Ingredients for 4 litres
- 600 g beef on the bone, or 1 kg chicken thighs
- 3 medium beetroots
- 4 potatoes
- ¼ head of cabbage
- 1 carrot, 1 onion
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 garlic cloves, a bay leaf, black peppercorns
- Juice of half a lemon, salt and sugar to taste
The secret: roasted beetroot
Wrap the beetroots in foil and roast them for an hour at 200 °C while you make the broth. Roasted beetroot is sweeter, and the colour of the soup stays deep instead of fading.
Step by step
- Cover the meat with cold water, bring to the boil, skim and simmer gently for 1.5 hours.
- Fry the onion and carrot, add the tomato paste and cook for two more minutes.
- Add the potatoes to the broth, then the cabbage 10 minutes later.
- Peel and grate the roasted beetroot, sprinkle it with lemon juice and add it with the fried vegetables.
- Bring to the boil, turn off the heat, add the garlic and bay leaf. Cover and leave for an hour.
Borscht tastes best the next day. If you can wait, make extra.
Borscht doesn’t like to be rushed. Neither does Sunday lunch.
