Borscht

other recipes

Early Fall

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1 hr

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4 servings

“Borscht” refers to a large category of sour soups in Eastern Europe. Some included are a fermented barley soup, a white borscht made with nettles, and the red beet borscht of Ukrainian fame, which is typically what is meant by “borscht”’ in the U.S. Even more specifically, the inclusion of beans (as in this recipe) is what in Polish would be called “Ukrainian Borscht” even though beans wouldn’t be included in a typical red borscht in Ukraine. 
I point this out to connect the dish back to Polish food institutions known as bar mleczny, or in English, milk bars. While they certainly sell dairy based products at these milk bars, other non-dairy Polish dishes such as pierogis, omelets, and soups (like Ukrainian Borscht) are also served at milk bars. While under the communist soviet bloc, these milk bars became state-subsidized institutions where cheap and filling meals could be available to anyone. However, with the fall of Soviet Union most milk bars did not survive the austerity of The Balcerowicz Plan in the early 1990’s. Recently there has been a resurgence of milk bars as low-cost restaurants in Poland, some even again being subsidized by the state.
While in culinary school I thought a lot about the accessibility of food, particularly restaurant food. No matter how you look at it, eating out at a restaurant is a luxury good. While I believe there is an art to the hospitality of restaurants and everyone should experience it from time to time, because they necessarily exclude a large portion of people, I don’t think significant change to the food system can happen through restaurants. Milk bars have always seemed like an interesting alternative to food service to me and something that still inspires me today as we try to build Gard Mo (and locally grown food generally) into something that is accessible to everyone.

Ingredients

from your CSA Club Share

from your pantry

  • Oil
  • Salt  
  • Black Pepper
  • Carrot – 1 medium (~1/2 c small diced)
  • Garlic – 4 cloves
  • Potato – 2-3 small (~1 ½ c diced)
  • Stock – 1 qt
    • Beef stock would be the most traditional, but I used corn cob stock (any veggie stock or chicken stock would also work)
  • Beans, cooked – 1 c
    • I used dried navy beans mixed with the crowder peas from the last share but any beans would work. ~1 can of beans, drained would be sufficient.
  • Soy Sauce – 1 tsp

larder items

tools

Nothing special for this recipe!

Directions

mise

  1. If needed, thaw the stock and cook the beans.
  2. Cut the onion into a small dice (~¼ “ pieces) and set aside in a small bowl.
  3. Cut the carrot into a small dice and set aside into a second bowl.
  4. Cut the pepper into a small dice and set into bowl with the carrot.
  5. Mince the garlic and set aside with the carrot and pepper.
  6. Chop the potato into a medium dice (~½ “ pieces) and set aside in a medium bowl.
  7. Rough chop the beet greens and set aside with the potatoes.
  8. Cut the brussels sprouts into quarters for bigger ones or in half if smaller. Set aside with the beet greens and potatoes.
  9. Reserving the liquid, rough chop the pickled beets and set aside with the potatoes

cook

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add ~3 T oil and the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until just starting to brown, ~ 8 mins.
  2. Add the carrot, pepper, and garlic. Cook until aromatic, ~ 3 mins.
  3. Add the potato, brussels sprouts, beet greens, and beet, mixing until well combined and the beet greens has wilted slightly, ~ 2 mins.
  4. Add the stock, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, and the reserved pickled beet liquid. Bring up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes are tender, ~ 15 mins.
  5. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the beans, 1 tsp soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste (probably ~1 tsp salt). Uncovered, cook another 5 mins.

plate

Ladle the borscht into a bowl. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, or a dash of heavy cream and serve with a hunk of sourdough bread.