How to Cook The Best Ever Ukrainian

Borshch: Top 5 Recipes

Borshch is often considered the pillar of Ukrainian cuisine and definitely is the most
famous dish served in every corner of the country. Many Ukrainians argue that the
iconic soup should only be homemade. That's why we picked 5 recipes you can try at
home to cook the best Ukrainian borscht ever – it's easier than it seems.

Borshch (sometimes "borshch", transliterated from Ukrainian) is a vegetable-based

soup, made of beetroot, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes and dill. Sometimes, meat or fish
is added to the dish. Borscht has been one of the main dishes on Ukrainian cuisine
way back since the 14th century. The word borshch originates from the Proto-Slavic
language, while borscht comes from Yiddish. In any case, the name appeals to
hogweed, which used to be the main ingredient before it was replaced with beetroot.

Apart from the classic Ukrainian red borshch recipe, where beetroot gives the soup its
recognizable color, many Ukrainians also love “green” borscht, where the main
component is sorrel leaves. It is often served in summer and considered a ‘light’ dish.
Red borshch is traditionally served with pampushky — small, fluffy buns often
sprinkled with garlic and dill. Flaky dough with sweet taste helps to enhance the taste
of borshch.

As the main dish of Ukrainian cuisine, borscht has numerous recipes. They often
differ even in neighboring villages of the same region, not even mentioning different
cooks. However, there are common regional recipes of borscht - for instance, Odesa
borscht with sweet pepper, cabbage-free Lviv borscht or Polissya borscht with
mushrooms.
 Classic Ukrainian Borshch Recipe

Вorshch has numerous variations and therefore recipes. The classic borshch recipe
usually refers to red borscht and includes beetroots, beef and cabbage. It is quite
dense and the ingredients are usually largely-chopped. The classic recipe calls for
serving borshch with sour cream – and pampushky.

Ingredients:
 300-400 g beef
 1.5 kg cabbage
 3-4 potatoes
 1-2 carrots
 1 onion
 1 beetroot
 2 bay leaves
 1.5-2 l water
 100 ml sour cream
 salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. First, prepare the broth. Wash the meat, put it in a pot and pour in cold water.
When the beef boils, remove the foam and cook the broth for another 20 minutes.
2. Peel beetroot, grate on a large grater and fry in oil. Add a little meat broth and
stew on a low heat.
3. Finely chop onions and fry in oil until golden color. Add the carrots, pour some
more broth and stew for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes, add to the broth and wait until it boils.
5. Put the shredded cabbage into the broth and cook for 15 minutes more. Add
salt, pepper, stewed beets, herbs and bay leaf.
6. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Remove from the
heat and let it steep.
 Kyiv Borshch

If you look closely at the map of Ukrainian cuisine, you will notice that the further to
the West, the fattier the dishes. So how to cook Ukrainian borshch Kyiv-style? Keep
to the golden middle. The soup’s main peculiarity is the absence of various additives
like crushed garlic or salo (pork lard) that are usually spread in the South. If you
really adore garlic, prepare a sauce to pour on pampushky - vegetable oil, water and
minced garlic mixed together.
Ingredients:
 300 g beef
 2 large beetroots
 half a glass of white beans
 1 onion
 1 carrot
 1 parsley root
 ¼ celery root
 half of a bell pepper
 2-3 garlic cloves
 2 potatoes
 2 glasses of chopped white cabbages
 salt
 1 tbsp vinegar
 0.5 tsp sugar
 3 tbsp tomato paste
 3 bay leaves
 sour cream
 greens
 2 tbsp sunflower oil
 3 l water
Directions:
1. Prepare the broth: wash meat, put in a saucepan, pour cold water and put on the
heat. Take off foam as it boils. Reduce the heat once the meat is boiled, put soaked
beans and cook for 30 minutes. It's best to soak beans beforehand for 5-6 hours.
Then add onions, carrots, parsley root and half a green pepper.
2. Boil for another 30 minutes. Keep the heat average, so that the broth boils a bit.
Add chopped potatoes, and after another 15 minutes add sliced cabbage, bay leaf
and beet pulp.
3. Prepare garnish: take a saucepan, pour oil and quickly fry crushed garlic. Then
add grated beets and celery. Fry everything for 5 minutes. 3. Add salt, vinegar,
sugar and tomato paste to the garnish. Stew for about 10 minutes.
4. Remove meat, onion, carrots, green pepper and parsley from the broth. Grate
the carrots, cut the meat into small pieces and put them back into borscht. Add
garnish.
5. Add salt to taste and sauté for another 30 minutes on a small heat. Serve with
sour cream.
 Polissya Borshch

Ukrainian region Polissya provides a nice vegetarian borshch recipe – it is meat-

free; instead the soup acquires its iconic taste with mushrooms and vegetables. For
this recipe, you will also need pickled cabbage brine. In Polissya, borsch is often
served with boiled crushed beans and sour cream.
Ingredients:
 3.5 l water
 150 g white mushrooms
 2-3 beetroots
 2 potatoes
 1 carrot
 1 onion
 ¼ white cabbage
 2 tbsp tomato paste
 2-3 garlic cloves
 2 bay leaves
 ground black pepper
 5-6 tbsp oil
 50-70 ml pickled cabbage brine
 sour cream
Directions:
1. Soak mushrooms in cold water for several hours. Then rinse well, chop into
straws.
2. Take a saucepan, pour in water and boil. Add salt, mushrooms, and cook on
medium heat until mushrooms are soft. 3. Wash and peel vegetables. Slice beets
and carrots into straws (or grate on a large grater), then cut onions and potatoes
into cubes, and shred cabbage into large pieces.
3. Put the beets in a frying pan. Add oil, water, tomato paste and a part of the
cabbage brine. Stew until almost ready.
4. Add potatoes and cabbage into the mushroom broth. In 5 minutes, add sautéd
carrots and onions. Finally, add stewed beets, spices, salt to taste, and the rest of
the cabbage brine.
5. Remove the pan from the heart and leave it to steep for about 20 minutes.
Serve with sour cream.
 Green Borshch

The classic

Green borshch recipe revolves around eggs. Apart from the greens like sorrel and
parsley, eggs are definitely paid extra attention when it comes to green borscht. It can
be served hot or cold in summer or prepared regardless of the season.

Ingredients:

 1.5 l chicken broth

 1 bunch of sorrel
 1 bunch of parsley
 1 bunch of leek
 2 potatoes
 3 eggs
 ½ onions
 salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare the broth: wash meat, put in a saucepan, pour cold water and put on the
heat. Take off foam as it boils.
2. Cut the greens, boil 2 eggs and clean the potatoes and onions.
3. Fry onions. Cut eggs once boiled. Add onions and greens to the broth.
4. Cut the potatoes in cubes and add to the soup. Add salt and pepper.
5. After 20 minutes, pour the raw egg into a broth, stir and continue to cook until
the egg hardens.
6. Add boiled eggs to the borsch and remove them from the flame. Serve green
borscht with sour cream.
 Odesa Borshch

The iconic regional Ukrainian borshch recipe comes from Odesa. This dish is cooked
with salo (pork lard), sweet bell peppers and vinegar that give the borscht a fatty
dense structure and a sour taste. Some recipes from Odesa also call for using fish
instead of meat.
Ingredients:
 1 kg beef
 2 bell peppers
 400 g white cabbage
 4 potatoes
 1 carrot
 2 onion
 2 beetroots
 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
 4 black peppercorns
 1 bay leaf
 50 g salo (lard)
 4 garlic cloves
 1 tbsp vinegar (9%)
Directions:
1. Thoroughly wash beef. Put it in a saucepan, pour cold water, bring to a boil,
and remove foam. Add salt to taste, add a few black peppercorns and peeled onion.
Simmer for 1.5 hours.
2. Take out the cooked meat and boiled onions from the broth.
3. Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden brown.
4. Peel beetroot, grate on a coarse grater. Melt pork fat in a pan, add beets, pour
in vinegar and 2 tablespoons of broth. Simmer the beets on medium heat until soft
for about 15 minutes. Then add tomato paste. Stir and simmer another 5 minutes.
5. Peel potatoes, chop into large pieces. Finely chop fresh cabbage. Remove seeds
from peppers, cut out the pith, cut into strips. Put vegetables in boiling broth. Boil
for 10-15 minutes and add the browned onions and carrots. After another 5-7
minutes, add the stewed beets and bay leaf.
6. Boil the borscht for 5 minutes, then fill with crushed salo and garlic. Bring to a
boil under a lid, remove from heat, let steep for 20 minutes.
7. Borscht in Odesa is served with sour cream and chopped greens.