Winter Borscht
Introduction
Borscht is popular throughout Eastern Europe, with countless variations. This hearty version, almost thick enough to be a stew, is meaty, smoky, and savoury, with fresh notes of apple and lemon to give it a traditional sweet and sour edge. Serve with crusty bread. Start the preparation (soaking the bacon hocks and making the stock) one or two days before making the soup.
Serves: 10
Ingredients
Stock
2 bacon hocks (soak overnight in cold water and discard water)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and cut into eighths
1 bay leaf
Small bunch of parsley stalks
3.5-4 L (6-8 pt) water (as much as will fit in the pot)
Soup
3 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large leek, trimmed and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 stick celery, sliced
½ tsp sweet paprika
500g (1 lb) potatoes, cubed
1 tart green apple (Granny Smith), peeled and diced
Freshly ground black pepper
3 L (about 6 pt) prepared bacon stock
1 x 400g (14 oz) canned, crushed tomatoes
½ small Savoy cabbage (about 450g / 15 oz), finely sliced
2 medium beetroot (beets), peeled and grated
Finely grated zest 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1½ tsp salt, or to taste
To serve
2-3 Tbsp each chopped parsley and dill
Sour cream, optional
Method
Stock
1 Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and partially cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 2-3 hours (a little more or a little less won’t hurt). Strain into a bowl, reserving the bacon hocks. Cool the stock, then refrigerate.
2 When the bacon hocks are cool, peel off the skin and extract the meat. Remove the fat and gristle, then slice the meat into pieces; reserve (if doing this in advance, keep the bacon meat in a covered container in the refrigerator).
Soup
1 Melt the butter in a large soup pot, then add the garlic, leeks, carrots and celery. Cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Stir in the paprika. Add the potatoes, apple, a few grinds of black pepper, the stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook gently for 20 minutes.
2 Add the cabbage, beetroot and lemon zest. Bring back to the boil, reduce the heat and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the bacon, heat through for a few minutes, then stir in the juice of one lemon. Add salt, more pepper and lemon juice if required. Serve with chopped parsley and dill, and sour cream if using.
Recipe Notes
Soak the bacon hocks for several hours or overnight to draw out excess salt.
The next day, make the stock. Chill it in the refrigerator for several hours. The fat will then rise to the top and can be skimmed off.
I use smoked paprika for its smoky flavour, but regular paprika will suffice.
Prolonged cooking changes the lovely ruby-red colour of beetroot liquid to a rusty red, so once the soup is ready, turn off the heat.
Always add sour cream at the table. Don’t mix it into the soup while cooking, or it will curdle.