I had another post planned this month, but the start of Russia’s horrific, unprovoked war against Ukraine on February 24, caused me to reflect on my culinary heritage, and I prepared a pot of Ukrainian Borshch, Ukraine’s national dish, in solidarity with my countrymen who are fighting to preserve life, country, culture and democracy.
Ukrainian Borshch (not borscht, the Russian spelling) is a mildly tart vegetable soup made with a meat stock base. Borshch is symbolically significant to Ukrainians. As my friend Chef Yevhen Klopotenko* writes: From a very dish that every Ukrainian cooks, borshch has become for me a symbol of the nation’s unity. Consider this, we might have different lifestyles, personalities, preferences or views, but one thing unites us all and that is our love for borshch. If you tell me that the liquid that runs in Ukrainian’s veins is blood, I’ll just shake my head. Dear friends, it’s red borshch that has been coursing in the veins of Ukrainians for ages.
Ukrainians have prepared borshch for over four centuries. A precursor of the modern beet, long and thick like a carrot, was grown in the ancient Middle East and was included in the cuisines of ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. But the cultivation of the modern, globular beet started in the 16th – 17th centuries in Europe and by the 18th century arrived in Ukraine when Ukrainian cooks started preparing borshch. Historical evidence shows that cabbage, potato and other vegetable soups were prepared as far back as the 11th century, but with the arrival of beets, borshch became the preeminent soup of sustenance and folklore.
Ukrainian tradition does not recognize dinner without a soup or borsch. But it recognizes that borshch can be a one-pot meal for the entire family. There are countless varieties of borshch, depending on regional and personal preferences. The proportion of beets and other ingredients differs from region to region of Ukraine, which makes this soup redder in some or more orange in others. During Lent, borshch is meatless. Even with individual cooks, borshch differs from pot to pot depending on the vegetables and meat on hand.
Borshch was a weekly staple in my childhood home. On weekends, Mama prepared a large pot of Volyn-style borshch with more beets, potatoes, carrots and onions but with less cabbage than other regional versions. It was ruby red, garnished with a spoon of thick sour cream. Its sweet-tart taste delighted my child’s palate and became my favorite soup.
Ukrainian Borshch is the national comfort food and a gastronomic superstar, eaten throughout the year on ordinary days and holidays. But Ukrainians have a deep need for borshch when under emotional distress. As this week’s Russian attacks progress from north, east and south, and Ukrainian cities are being repeatedly shelled by missiles, Ukrainians are fighting back and posting on social media that they find solace in a hot bowl of borshch with a crust of bread. Ukrainian borshch warms the soul and lifts the spirit.
Ukrainian Borshch is simple to prepare but requires time for cooking beets and stock. I usually prepare it on Saturday when I do other things at home while it cooks unattended, periodically checking progress. Traditionally, borshch is made with homemade stock as in this recipe, but in a pinch a good quality purchased beef stock can produce excellent borshch, just omit step 2.
This borshch recipe is flexible. The listed ingredients can be changed in amount or substituted. It can be thick or thin. More water or stock can be added to adjust its consistency to personal preference. This recipe is a virtue for a family cook. It can be made a day in advance and reheated without any loss of flavor.
As I cooked this Ukrainian Borshch today and Weldon and I shared bowls at dinner, we reminisced about our 28 years in Ukraine. Kyiv was our second home. Weldon, Sophia and I visited ancestral towns and graves of our ancestors. We traveled to all corners of the country, enchanted by its natural beauty and its caring people. Now watching devastating images of rockets falling from the sky leveling streets that we walked on a few months ago, hitting buildings that I worked in over the years, damaging historic sites and seeing thousands of frightened Ukrainians whose lives are suddenly upended and fleeing to safety, it is hard for me to understand why this wanton destruction is happening in the third decade of the 21st century. This new reality is impossible to accept.
I honor the determination and resolve of Ukrainian military and civilians to fight off this vengeful attack. I am also thinking about the 11th-century six-meter-high mosaic icon of the Virgin Mary Oranta, the protectoress, in the cupola of St. Sophia Sobor, Kyiv’s oldest church.
Ukrainians believe Her outstretched arms protect the country and Kyiv will stand indestructible. May She continue to protect Ukraine and its brave, freedom-loving people!
Slava Ukraini! Heroyam Slava! Glory to Ukraine! Glory to its Heros!
Ukrainian Borshch
3 medium beets
For meat stock:
1½ pound (680 g) chuck steak
1 beef soup bone
8 cups (1893 ml) water
OR substitute the first 3 ingredients with 2 quarts (1893 ml) beef stock
1 smoked ham hock
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
For soup:
1 small cabbage, shredded fine, about 4 cups (586 g)
3 small boiling potatoes, diced
1 cup (170 g) great northern beans, cooked
½ cup tomato paste
2 carrots, diced
3 branches flat-leafed parsley stems
1 medium onion, diced
2 strips bacon, washed in warm water
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
For garnish:
½ cup (60 g) sour cream
½ tablespoon parsley, minced
½ tablespoon fresh dill, minced
Cooking beets: Place unpeeled but scrubbed beets in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to boil.
Cooking beets
Reduce heat to low and cook until tender when pierced with a wooden skewer, about 1 hour. Drain beets, discarding cooking water. Cool. Peel beets by sliding the skin off with fingers. Shred beets on coarse grater or julienne into strips. Set aside.
Meat stock ingredients
Preparing beef stock: Cut the chuck steak into 2-inch cubes. Add meat, soup bone and ham hock to a large stockpot with black peppercorns and 1 bay leaf, cover with water and simmer for 1 hour, skimming foam and fat from the surface of the stock. Add salt and cook until meat is tender, continuing to skim surface foam and fat. When meat is tender, strain stock. Cut meat off of ham hock, discarding skin, gristle and bone, and combine with cooked meat. Set meat aside. Discard soup bone. Reserve stock.
Vegetables ingredients and bacon
Preparing vegetables: Pour oil into a large skillet and add onion, carrot and parsley stems and sauté until crisp-tender. Set aside.
Assembling soup: Fry bacon, discarding all grease. Set aside. Pour homemade or purchased stock to clean stockpot. Heat to boiling over high heat, add shredded cabbage and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until cabbage is crisp-tender. Reduce heat to simmer. Add potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Then add meat, sautéed vegetables, bacon, tomato paste, remaining bay leaves, lemon juice, sugar and garlic and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add beets and beans and reheat to simmer. (Do not boil as boiling will bleach the red color of the beets.)
Adjust salt, pepper and sugar. The soup should be pleasantly tart.
Serve in large soup bowls, placing a portion of meat and assorted vegetables in each with hot stock. Garnish with chopped parsley and dill. Serve sour cream on the side.
Makes 12 dinner servings.
* Yevhen Klopotenko, Ukrainian Cuisine in 70 Dishes, #Knigolove, Kyiv, 2021.
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