Bright and Flavorful Beef Borscht Recipe

Beautiful, original, made from ordinary products, the best! It’s not so difficult to cook classic borscht with beef, but many housewives fail to maintain the bright ruby color of this first dish. By following simple instructions, you will cook not only tasty, but also very beautiful borscht.
cook time: 2h 15 min
Lucas Halstead
Bright and Flavorful Beef Borscht Recipe

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

39
Calories
2g
Fat
4g
Carbs
3g
Protein

Ingredients (8 portions)

Basic:

Water 2.5 l
Beef 400 g
Cabbage 400 g
Potato 300 g
Onion 1 pc
Garlic 3 clove
Bay leaf 2 pc
Vinegar 1 tbsp
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste

For frying:

Carrot 1 pc
Beet 1 pc
Tomato paste 4 tbsp
Vegetable oil 2 tbsp

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to cook classic borscht with beef? Prepare all the necessary ingredients for borscht. For a richer broth, it is better to use beef on the bone. Wash and peel the potatoes well. To prevent the tubers from darkening, fill them with water while cooking the broth.

Step 2

Step 2
Peel the onion. I use the whole onion and discard it at the very end of cooking. But in general, onions are added to borscht when fried with beets and carrots. It needs to be cut into small cubes. Or you can use two onions at once — one for the broth, and the second for frying.

Step 3

Step 3
Rinse the beef and place in a saucepan along with a whole onion (if you do not add onions to the fry). Pour in water and place the pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked through, about one hour, skimming off any foam. The cooking time will depend on the size of the piece of meat you have, what part of the carcass it comes from and the age of the animal.

Step 4

Step 4
While the broth is cooking, cut the potatoes into medium cubes.

Step 5

Step 5
Free the head of cabbage from the topmost leaves, cut out the stalk. Finely chop the cabbage.

Step 6

Step 6
Remove the meat from the broth, cool and cut into small pieces.

Step 7

Step 7
Add shredded cabbage and potatoes to the broth. Bring the broth to a boil and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Step 8

Step 8
Prepare the necessary ingredients for frying. How to make a roast? Prepare food for her. Wash the beets and carrots and peel them. You can replace tomato paste with ketchup or 1-2 fresh tomatoes. If you are using fresh tomatoes, remove the skins from them. To do this, cut them crosswise, scald them with boiling water, and then put them in cold water. After this, the skin will be very easy to remove. Then grate the pulp on a fine grater.

Step 9

Step 9
Grate the beets on a coarse grater.

Step 10

Step 10
Also grate the carrots on a coarse grater.

Step 11

Step 11
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add carrots, beets and tomato paste. If you use onions in the frying, you need to add it along with all the vegetables.

Step 12

Step 12
Simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring.

Step 13

Step 13
Transfer the roast to the pan and stir. The borscht will immediately take on a bright ruby color. The key to the beautiful bright red color of borscht is the color of the beets themselves, as well as the cooking time. If beets are stewed for a long time and then boiled, they become transparent, and the borscht acquires a pale red color. The proportions of beets and water are also important: if there is a lot of water, and the beets are small, then there will not be enough of it to properly color the entire broth.

Step 14

Step 14
Return beef to pan. Pour in vinegar. You can replace the vinegar with the juice of 1/2 lemon or 1/2 tsp. citric acid. In any case, it is necessary to add some kind of acid to the borscht: this way its bright color is preserved and the borscht itself acquires a slight sourness. Add bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir again and cook until the vegetables are ready for about 10-15 minutes.

Step 15

Step 15
Peel the garlic cloves and pass through a press.

Step 16

Step 16
Season the borscht with chopped garlic and remove the pan from the heat. I usually leave the pan on the burner as it cools.

Step 17

Step 17
Cover the pan with a lid and let the borscht steep for 10-15 minutes. Then pour into plates and serve with sour cream and black bread. Bon appetit!

Additional rubrics

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