Borscht

By the way, you may choose to add a full red bell pepper (cut in half and seeded) into the soup, makes a wonderful addition to the taste.

• Tfilt89

• Russia

• 6/12/2014

This is the worst misrepresentation of a Borscht recipe i've ever seen. This is how it's done: Boil the beef with the bone until tender in a large pot. grate fresh beets (2 medium or 1 large) and saute in a separate pan until color is sealed, then add broth from the meat and simmer under cover for 8-10 minutes. Grate carrot and add chopped onion into the pan once the beets are removed and repeat the process. Add chopped garlic. While the meat cooks on a n average of an hour, always keep skimming the foam off, to leave a beautiful clear broth. Add a full onion and bay leaves into the broth, add a full carrot. Take 1 frozen tomato and cook it on a pan with oil, until it falls apart, add broth if need be. Add 1 fresh chopped tomato into the pan as well and sautee until tender. Once the meat looks and feels tender and ready to fall off the bone, add potato. Add shredded green cabbage. Cook until potato and cabbage are tender. Once those are tender, add the beats onions and carrots that were cooked in the pan. Add the tomato in as well, then add some parsley, add a table spoon of tomato paste. Let it all cook out for 15-20 minutes. That's a borsht. Serve it in a big bowl with black bread on the side and a clove of garlic, add a generous amount of sour cream on top of the soup. Enjoy. Epicurious, get your facts right.

• Tfilt89

• Russia

• 6/12/2014

Yuck! The perfect example of too much processed food in the American diet. Totally disgusting.

• Countessa_Cooksalot

• Cape Cod, MA

• 2/3/2014

I am new to this site but made the wonderful hot and sour soup I got from epicurious, which was excellent, so when I saw the recipe for borscht I had to take a look......I was shocked...my mother-in-law was Russian and I have a family recipe and this recipe is NOT BORSCHT, not even close

• bpjsmith

• fairhope, al

• 9/25/2013

This is about as dummied down a version as you can get. You HAVE to start with a rich beef stock made from roasted and simmered meat & bones (shanks, ribs will do), and it must contain some tender chunks of beef. Where's the cabbage? Where's the tomatoes? It will never taste right without them. No lemon juice to add that acidic spark? And don't even get me started on the canned, pickled beets. I guess if you've never tasted a real borscht before you might not know any better. But those of us who do will just shake our heads at this recipe. It sounds like something Campbell's would make.

• worldbeat

• Oakland, CA

• 9/12/2013

Meh. Americanized borscht at best. Good taste, quick too. Not authentic, but good.

• FoodieVixen

• 堪萨斯城,密苏里州

• 12/11/2011

Not a tasty Russian beet soup!

• popcan

• 3/24/2011

did not even bother

• babydavidbulldog

• 9/28/2010

I don't know what's truly "traditional" in Russian or Ukranian cuisine--my family's comes from all over Western Europe and I'm more familiar with German and Italian food traditions. I have a long-lived fascination with Russian culture and have experimented with borsct for 20 years, though I would never use store-bought pickled beets in anything. I used to make it from fresh ingredients, but now I use beets that I pickle naturally (and quite traditionally) at home. Not only is this soup delicious, it is so easy. Beef broth, leftover pot roast, pickled beets and some boiled root vegetables...top with homemade yogurt and it's as good as or even better than any borscht I've made with fresh ingredients and vinegar.

• Anonymous

• 12/12/2008

You can make this but don't claim it's borsch. You're doing a disservice to everyone who is looking for the real recipe. One advice: to make borsch, EVERYTHING has to be fresh.

• Anonymous

• Dallas, TX

• 11/4/2005

I'm not Ukrainian. I'm Albanian. Is that like the same thing?

• Anonymous

• Paterson, NJ

• 2/20/2004

I'm not Ukranian, but even I know not to use pickled beets!

• Anonymous

• San Antonio del Mar, Mexico

• 2/25/2003

Traditional? No. Delicious? Yes. Quick and easy? Definitely. Suspend your pre-conceived notions of what borscht should be; call it something else if you like. My family and I really liked this soup. And it's beautiful to look at.

• Anonymous

• Jackson, NJ

• 12/20/2002

Being Russian (Ukrainian) myself, I would like to support all comments that were made by fellow Russian cook. The recipe given is NOT A BORSCHT. This recipe is simply a nonsense. Besides, there is no such thing as Russian Borscht. It is an authentic Ukrainian dish. No wonder people would not like Russian cuisine. It's a shame you could not find a decent version of Borscht recipe. P.S. In Ukraine it is a requirement to sauté beets together with fresh tomatoes for a long time before putting the mixture into the stock, potatoes should be added before the tomato mixture, otherwise they will have tough texture.

• Anonymous

• philly

• 9/5/2002

Due to the mixed reviews, I had reservations about trying this recipe...but I went ahead and proceeded with caution. I was not disappointed. The recipe yielded a wonderfully rich and hearty borscht. Taking hints from a reviewer below, I also put my potatoes directly into the borscht and left the skins on. I simmered the borscht a much longer time than directed, not only to cook the potatoes, but to let all of the flavors blend. I used chicken stock in place of beef, and finely chopped my carrots, celery, and onions in a food processor. I was weary, too, about using the jarred beets. Fresh would no doubt have been better. Though this was a delicious and satisfying soup (almost a stew), it was not a winner in terms of traditional borscht. When I think of my grandmother's borscht I dream of that deep red broth with beets on the bottom of the bowl. If that's the kind of borscht you're after, try another recipe. All that said, the finished product, especially after a day, was absolutely delicious.

• Jon Michael Varese

• Santa Cruz, CA

• 11/15/2001