Borsch with Beans

Name: Borsch with Beans
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: European, Eastern European
Ingredients: 1800 ml beef stock, made with 2 beef shanks; 300 g beans, freshly shelled; 150 g cabbage (white, shredded); 1 bunch scallions; 3 tbsp parsley (fresh, chopped); 1 tbsp dill (fresh, chopped); 2 strips bacon , diced; 3 cloves garlic, diced; 2 tbsp sunflower oil; 120 g onion, diced; 250 g beetroot, raw, grated; 175 g carrot, raw, grated; 800 g tomato, canned, crushed; 2 bay leaf; 5 allspice; 3 cloves; 1 tsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp vinegar (distilled); 1 pinch parsley (dry); 1 pinch thyme (dry); 1 pinch dill (dry); 1 pinch chervil (dry)

9 steps

Prep:30minCook:1h

The following is a variation of our family recipe. I cooked my borsch this way for the first time for the Independence Day of Ukraine in 2014. It is not, by definition, traditional or authentic. Typically, meat and beans are not used together. They work nicely together but skip the meat and beef stock if you wish to make a vegetarian version.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 12:03:23 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Great

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

Moderate

Nutrition per serving

Calories282.4 kcal (14%)

Total Fat7.1 g (10%)

Carbs41.7 g (16%)

Sugars10.2 g (11%)

Protein16.1 g (32%)

Sodium718 mg (36%)

Fiber10.1 g (36%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Instructions

for beef stock

Step 1

You need two meaty beef shanks (~2.5 lb) for the stock. I use my 3-quart crock-pot for cooking it. Add about 2 quarts of cold water to the shanks, cover, and turn the heat on high. It will start to boil slowly in an hour or so. Turn heat to low and let it simmer for another 3 hours.

Step 2

Remove the meat and bones from the pot. Strain the stock using non-scented paper towels and refrigerate. Store the meat and the cooked bone marrow separately. (Skip this step if you are making a meatless version or another stock or broth.)

main

Step 3

Measure all the ingredients.

Step 4

Sautee chopped onions until translucent and aromatic. Add carrots and beetroots. Add some salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir and cook on low heat until soft and fragrant. Allow vegetables to caramelize slightly to develop their flavors. The taste will depend on how the root vegetables were grown and their variety. If they have retained many natural sugars, you won’t need to add any sugar later.

Step 5

Add crushed tomatoes, dry herbs, spices, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes on low heat. Remove the lid. Continue cooking and stirring until most of the liquid is evaporated. Taste it. Balance the taste with sugar and salt. If tomatoes were not sour enough, you need to add vinegar. The flavor of this mixture is ideally vibrant and complex. It has to reflect the balanced combination of sourness and sweetness, be sufficiently salty, and capture the earthiness of the root vegetables. It is essential to preserve the intensity of all four of these flavors after the mixture is diluted with a relatively large volume of liquid broth.

Step 6

In a large pot, mix the cold beef stock (or your alternative cooking liquid) with shelled beans and the sauce you prepared in step 3. Place on high heat and bring to boiling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, uncovered.

Step 7

Taste a bean from the soup. It should be soft but not mushy. Add cabbage, green onions, and fresh herbs and bring to a boil again.

Step 8

Dice and mix smoked bacon with garlic. Add it to the boiling borsch and turn the heat off.

Step 9

A borsch is never ready to serve immediately. All the flavors need a few hours to “marry.” Borsch tastes the best the following day. Smachnogo! (Ukrainian for Bon Appetite!)

View on lyukum.com

↑Support creators by visiting their site 😊