Borsch for Sara

[karakaja]

Sara, zdravo!
Here is about borsch. I am sorry it took me so long, but I really hoped to find a decent borsch recipe online and to just give my comments, but reading 5 google-pages of various English language borsch recipes just made me angry). So here we go:

• on the first day, I cook beef stock (goveja juha). I really do not like any meat in my borsch, so I use really cheap meat cuts which I throw away after the stock is ready. I also throw away stock vegetables, filter the stock and take away fat after cooling the liquid. Borsch tastes better on the 2nd+ day of cooking, so it makes sense to make a large pot of borsch and therefore to make a large pot of stock ).
• on the second day, I "assemble" my borsch:
• I bake 2-3 beets (wrap them in foil and put them in the oven for 1,5- 2 hours), and julienne them (or cut into small cubes) after they are ready.
• clean/ peel other vegetables: 2-3 small potatoes (small cubes), 1/2 cabbage (thin slices), 1 large onion (cubes or 1/4 rings), 2 carrots (cubes or julienne).
• I cook "zazharka": in olive/sunflower seed oil, I saute onions. After they are transparent gold color, I add carrots. In 3 minutes, I add beets and a teaspoon of vinegar, and 3 minutes later I add table spoon of tomato paste or a can of peeled chopped tomatoes. I let it cook for 5-7 minutes.
• meanwhile, in the boiling beef stock, I first add potatoes and in 10+ min - cabbage.
• when zazharka is ready, I add it to the pot with stock, potatoes, and cabbage, bring it to a boil, check it for taste* and turn heat off andop0 let it rest under closed lid for 10 minutes.
• check it for the taste= salt, pepper, may need table spoon of sugar and/or spoon of vinegar.
• serve with kisla smetana, fresh petersil and garlic peeled into plates individually.
• tasetes better next day).

This recipe is according to my preference: I like potatoes soft, cabbage slightly crunchy, carrots not overcooked, beets not colorless (hence baking and vinegar). If you, for example, prefer your cabbage or carrots soft, just change cooking time accordingly).