Borscht, Russian Soup.

After living in NY and meeting a lot of russians and ukrainians and after having borscht for the first time. I decided to make it my own. I asked my brother-in-law for his expertise on the subject since he lived (served his LDS mission) in Russia! Spaciba Nick :)

 

 Recipe will follow:

Ingrigid (aka "Ingredients"):
4 cutlets bone-in pork
bay leaves
garlic salt
salt and pepper
---
6-8 large carrots, grated
6-8 potatos, cut in cubes
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
4-6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4-6 medium size beets, grated
1 8oz can tomato PASTE
1 medium head cabbage, chopped

Instructions:
1) Start large pot of boiling water and add pork, bay leaves, garlic salt and S&P to flavor.  Don't fill the whole pot with water - maybe about 1/3 - at least plenty to cover the meat.  This is going to be your stock, so you don't want it too watery, but you also aren't adding any extra fluid to the soup.  Set aside and let the pork boil until cooked.

2) In a LARGE frying pan, start to sautee the carrots and onions in vegetable oil.  As the carrots are softening, add in the garlic and beets.  As soon as the beets are added, stir in the tomato paste.  You need to add the WHOLE can of tomato paste.  What I do is scrape in as much as I can, then I fill the can with water and add that as well.  You should have a nice little sautteing mixture of veggies in a thin tomato sauce now.  Let that simmer for 10-15 minutes.

4) When you pork is done, remove the meat from the water and shred/chop it.  You can throw away the bone, but do NOT pour out your water or seasonings!  Add the cut up meat back to the stock and add in the veggies you just sauteed.  Now you can add your cabbage as well.  The soup should be pretty thick, but if you need to, you can a little more water.  Salt, pepper, and garlic to flavor.  Now let it simmer for AT LEAST 1-2 HOURS!!!

5) You should serve it HOT with a slice of black bread (substitute rye or whole wheat for black bread) and a big scoop of sour cream in the soup.  If people want to eat it in true Russian fashion, give them a clove of fresh garlic with their bread.  Russians will rub the garlic on their bread, dip the bread in the soup, and eat the bread that way.  The downside is that your hands REEK of garlic for days afterward!

This recipe makes a HUGE pot that serves at least 8-10 people easily. 

Dasvidanya,
Nikolai