A dish that is considered national by Ukrainians, Poles and Lithuanians, which occupies one of the leading places in the ranking by cooking frequency in families living in the CIS countries - this is a familiar and beloved borsch from childhood.
Origin of the dish
In addition to the main question: “Is borsch a soup or not?”, The debate about who invented this dish nevertheless does not cease. Several nations are fighting for the right to be called the "progenitors" of borsch.
Unfortunately, historically confirmed about where the borsch came from - no. The dish has become popular in Ukraine since the fourteenth century, and in Poland - from the eighteenth. True, then the name of the dish sounded different: hogweed.
From an etymological point of view, the word is divided into two components: “boron” and “u”. The beginning of the word means color - brown or red. The second part is the abbreviated name of cabbage soup, which was prepared on meat broth, but without the addition of beets. So it turns out that this is borsch - this is red meat broth.
Borsch: is it soup or not?
Soup is the first dish, which is a decoction in which seasonings and additional ingredients are added. Therefore, to answer the question: borsch is a soup or not, is quite simple. It is liquid and served as a first course. So, borsch is a soup.
Beetroot spread among Slavic countries. Its base is spicy vegetables, among which there are beets. When cooking, part of the vegetables is usually fried or stewed, and only after that all the components are added to the prepared broth.
Usually, borsch is served hot and seasoned with sour cream. Over a long history, when many argued about whether borscht is a soup or not, hundreds of recipes were invented: lean, on kefir, with prunes, in a microwave, and so on. The best recipes are presented below.
Ingredients for Lean Borsch with Beans
From many other dishes, this is distinguished by a fairly simple preparation. Soup - borsch in our case - can be lean, but at the same time very tasty and nutritious.
Lenten soup is cooked in an hour and a half. To prepare ten servings you will need:
- Three hundred grams of cabbage.
- Two hundred grams of champignons.
- One hundred grams of dry beans.
- Three medium potatoes.
- Three cloves of garlic.
- Two fresh tomatoes.
- One medium onion.
- One beetroot.
- Carrot.
- Bell pepper.
To taste, add spices, herbs and bay leaf.
Cooking
A few hours before cooking, it is necessary to soak the beans in cold water. After pour the water, and put the beans in a container where the soup will be cooked. Add three liters of water and keep on fire for sixty minutes.
Chop onions and carrots. Add onions to a preheated pan, fry for three minutes. Then add carrots and leave the vegetables on fire for another five minutes. After the resulting mass, add to the pan to the beans.
After this, cut the potatoes into pieces immediately add to the water and cook for ten minutes. At this time, chop the pepper and chop the cabbage. After ten minutes, add them to the soup.
Fry chopped beets in oil for about five to seven minutes, and then transfer everything to a pan. After that add spices and bay leaf.
Tomatoes should be rinsed with boiling water and peeled, then rub them into a homogeneous mass. Mushrooms should be fried briefly and only then added to the soup. Season the dish with tomatoes and cook for ten minutes. All that remains is to add parsley and garlic, mix everything and turn off the heat.
Ready borsch should be covered and left to infuse for fifteen minutes. So you can solve such a problem as cooking a delicious soup - borsch, or rather - during fasting.
Ingredients for borsch with beans cooked in beef broth
Lenten meals are probably good for the body. But no one will refuse delicious borscht cooked in beef broth. Many housewives know how to cook such borscht soup. The recipe is quite simple. The main thing is to choose good bones on which there will be enough meat.
For cooking you will need:
- Beef meat on the bone.
- Three potato tubers.
- One onion.
- One carrot.
- A jar of beans.
- One beetroot.
- One or two tablespoons of tomato paste.
- Cabbage to taste.
- Two bay leaves.
- Two cloves of garlic.
- Spices to taste.
- Greens.
Cooking
There is something that unites almost all borscht soups. Broths. Their preparation should not occur in the bustle. If the borsch will be cooked in a bone broth, then it must be cooked in advance.
The purchased bones will need to be washed well, and then transferred to a pan and pour water. The broth is boiled for two hours over low heat. At this time, it is necessary to constantly remove the resulting foam. After boiling the broth, add bay leaf, onion and herbs. Boil everything until the meat keeps up with the bones. After that, pull out the onion and bay leaf.
Then you need to chop the carrots and onions, stew them for five minutes. Add beets to the total mass - fry for five minutes, then add a little broth and leave to stew.
While stewing vegetables, you can finely chop the cabbage. Then add it to the vegetables and simmer until it becomes soft. If the vegetables get too dry, you can add a little broth to the pan. Then add beans and tomato paste there. Stew all the ingredients for another five to seven minutes.
Pour chopped potatoes into the broth. Transfer all vegetables and beans from the pan to the pan, add garlic, salt and sugar to taste. Leave the soup to boil for another five to ten minutes. Sprinkle with herbs before serving.
Ingredients for cooking borsch in a multivark
Mistresses who have acquired such a useful device as a crock-pot do not tire of praising their "assistant". According to them, the dishes are tastier in them, and cooking is easier. But is it possible to cook first courses in a slow cooker? Borsch, soups are usually associated with a long standing at the stove. But, as it turned out, even your favorite borscht can be cooked in a slow cooker.
For cooking you will need:
- The meat on the bone is three hundred grams.
- Cabbage - two hundred grams.
- Potato - four pieces.
- Two fresh tomatoes.
- Two cloves of garlic.
- One beetroot.
- One onion.
- One carrot.
- One bell pepper.
- Lemon juice.
- Oregano.
- Basil.
- Tomato paste - three tablespoons.
- Salt pepper.
Cooking
Cut the meat into small cubes. Set the slow cooker in the “Baking” mode and add a little vegetable oil to the bowl. Put meat there and bake for twenty minutes.
Chop vegetables. Grate beets and carrots, cut the tomatoes into cubes. Chop the onion into small pieces. Add onions and carrots to the meat bowl and fry for another fifteen minutes. Chop the pepper into small cubes and add it to the meat. After ten minutes of frying, add beets to the total mass. Leave to cook for ten minutes.
Add garlic and spices to vegetables and meat to taste. Add chopped cabbage and chopped potatoes to the bowl. Salt and mix again. Change the cooking mode to "Stew", add water to the bowl, and leave to cook for sixty minutes.
After an hour, change the mode to "Heating" and leave for another two hours. After this, the dish can be served on the table, after adding greens and lemon juice. You can fill the dish with sour cream.
The number of products can be changed depending on taste preferences. However, even in a slow cooker you get a delicious soup - borsch. Photos of dishes cooked on the stove and in the slow cooker are almost the same.
Ingredients for borsch on pork ribs
You can cook a delicious and satisfying borscht from any meat: beef, chicken and, of course, pork. Borsch cooked on pork turns out to be especially rich. You can use the tongue, meat on the bone, ribs and fillets. Below is a recipe for borsch on pork ribs.
For cooking you will need:
- Pork ribs - five hundred grams.
- Fresh cabbage - five hundred grams.
- Green beans - two hundred and fifty grams.
- Tomato paste - two hundred grams.
- Garlic - four cloves.
- Bulbs - three pieces.
- Carrots - two pieces.
- Beets - two pieces.
- Fresh tomatoes - two pieces.
- One small eggplant.
- Bell pepper.
- Black pepper.
- Salt, sugar.
Cooking
Borsch on pork ribs is prepared quite simply. First you need to fill the ribs with four liters of cold water. Leave to boil, get rid of the resulting foam. Add peppercorns, bay leaves and herbs to the bowl with ribs. Leave the broth cooked on fire for an hour and a half.
While preparing the broth, you can chop the vegetables. Grind bell peppers, potatoes, carrots and beets. Chop the eggplant and cabbage into strips, and cut the tomato into small cubes. Add a slice of vegetable oil to the pan and let it melt.
Put chopped carrots in a pan, fry for five minutes. Then add the onion and simmer for three minutes. Then pour tomatoes and peppers. Leave to cook for five minutes. Beetroot follows. Stew vegetables for another ten minutes over low heat. After adding the tomato paste, mix thoroughly and leave it on fire for another five minutes.
Remove the ribs from the broth and remove the meat from them. They must be cut into small pieces. Add chopped cabbage and a quarter of all vegetables to the broth. Cook for five minutes. Then add the cubes of potatoes and leave to cook again for five minutes. Add eggplant, salt and leave on fire for five minutes.
Then you need to add the remaining vegetables and beans to the broth. Pour the chopped meat into the pan. Move everything carefully and cook for ten minutes. After that, try again on the salt.
While the borsch is cooked, it is necessary to chop the greens and crush the garlic. Remove the pan from the heat and add greens and garlic to the dish. Let it brew for fifteen to twenty minutes.
You can cook a delicious and satisfying borsch from different products. It is not necessary to follow clear instructions and follow the recipe to the smallest detail. After several experiments, housewives usually add their notes: more cabbage, less onion, and so on.
And no matter where the borsch came to us from, whether it is soup or not. The only important thing is that these dishes have been loved by many generations.