Ukrainian Borsch from The WCK Cookbook
World Central Kitchen’s #ChefsForUkraine team served our first bowls of borsch to families fleeing into Poland in the first days after Russia launched its full scale invasion. Since then, we have provided this classic, bright-red beet soup to people all across Ukraine as a way to offer comfort and a sense of home.
Ukrainian borsch—commonly spelled “borscht” outside of Ukraine—is the classic, bright-red, slightly sour beet soup, chock-full of vegetables (and sometimes meat) and topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill. There are as many recipes for borsch as there are babusias (grandmothers), and at our kitchen in Poland, right on the border with Ukraine, we made many different versions, depending on who was cooking and what recipe their grandmother taught them. This hearty vegetarian version quickly became a favorite, full of potatoes, cabbage, and pickles—all of which get beautifully stained by the beets. Some cooks use canned beets as a shortcut, but most babusias insist on starting with raw. It takes longer, but the result pays off in a beautifully crimson, earthy-sweet stock.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red beets, scrubbed, 2 pounds left whole and 1 pound peeled and diced
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and medium-diced
- 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and medium-diced
- 1 small head green cabbage, shredded
- 1 large dill pickle, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes, plus 1⁄2 cup pickle juice
- 1 cup sour cream, for garnish
- 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, for garnish
Preparation
- In a food processor fitted with the shredding blade, shred the 2 pounds whole beets. (If you don’t have a food processor, roughly chop them.)
- Transfer the shredded beets to a 6- to 8-quart stockpot and add 10 cups water. Set the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beets are extremely soft and the liquid is deep red, about 2 hours. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a large bowl or container, pressing the cooked beets against the side of the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp. Measure the beet stock (it should be 4 to 6 cups) and add enough water to come to 10 cups. Set aside.
- Rinse out the stockpot. Set over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the carrots, paprika, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper and continue to cook until the carrots start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the beet stock mixture to the pot along with the potatoes and diced beets and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the potatoes and beets are fork-tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the cabbage and pickle and return to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the cabbage has wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the pickle juice and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to warm through. The soup should now have a rich red color. Taste and add salt, as needed. Remove the bay leaf.
- Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream and chopped dill.
