Ukrainian Borscht Soup Recipe

What's better than a warm bowl of soup mid winter? This is traditional Ukranian Borscht Soup has a great depth of flavour and is relatively cheap and easy to make. Moreover, the most of the ingredients can be found in your panty.

This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite childhood memories at a Russian restaurant called Shashlik. I have always enjoyed its Borscht Soup more than any other dish served there. Unfortunately this restaurant will be closing its business at the end of the year.

This is a great dish for a large family or a bible study group dinner. You can also freeze this soup and reheat for future meals.

This recipe will feed at least 10.

Equipment

Large stock pot

Knife

Chopping board

Peeler (optional)

Shredder (optional)

Ingredients 

500g chuck steak or silverside diced or sausage mince

2 large onions diced

3 cloves of garlic diced

1 tbps sugar

3 medium carrots peeled and shredded

3 large potatoes peeled and shredded

1/2 cabbage shredded (you can use a mix of red and green cabbage)

800g tin of sliced beetroot julienned 

400g tin of crushed tomato

400g tomato purée.

Lots of water

1 tbps cooking oil

Seasoning

Dollop of sour cream

Sugar to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1) In the stock pot, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and fry till translucent. You migh need to add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water to prevent the onions from burning. Add 1 tbps of sugar to further caramelize the onions.

2) Add the minced garlic into the pot and fry till fragrant.

3) Add the meat in and brown it.

4) Add the tomatoes, potatoes, carrots into the pot. Add water to cover all the vegetables. Add the tomato purée. Give the pot a good stir. Bring to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.

5) Add the cabbage and beetroot in. You can also add the water in the beetroot tin in. Add more water to bring the water level to about 1-2 inch over the vegetables. Give the pot a good stir to mix all the ingredients. Bring to boil again, then simmer for another 15 minutes.

6) Taste test. This is to balance the tartness of the tomatoes with the sweetness of the onions, cabbage, carrots and beetroot. If the soup is too sour for your liking, add some sugar. Don't be surprised if you might need a couple of tablespoons of sugar to get up to the level of sweetness you like.

7) Add and pepper to taste.

8) Serve up the soup with a dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley.

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