Borscht
Borscht or borshch is a hearty beetroot vegetable soup that originates from Ukraine. The soup is part of the local culinary heritage of many Eastern and Central European nations. It is also a staple dish in Eastern Europe, and made its way into United States cuisine by way of Jewish immigrants (as well as other Eastern Europeans).
Ingredients
Soup
- 1½ cups thinly-sliced potatoes (about 3 small potatoes)
- 1 cup thinly-sliced beets.
- 4 cups water
- 1–2 tablespoons butter
- 1½ cups chopped onion (about ⅓ of a large onion)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- 3–4 cups shredded cabbage (about ⅓ of a large cabbage)
- a little fresh-ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dill weed
- 1–2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1–2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
- 1 cup tomato purée or ¼ to ½ cup tomato paste
Garnish
- Sour cream or yogurt
- Dill weed
Steps
- Place potatoes, beets and water in medium saucepan. Cover. Cook over medium heat 20–30 min until tender. Proceed with recipe meanwhile.
- Melt butter in Dutch oven/soup pot. Add onion and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8–10 min until onions are translucent.
- Add celery, carrots, cabbage and 2 cups of the potato-beet cooking water. Cover. Cook over medium heat 8–10 min until vegetables are tender.
- Add remaining soup ingredients, including potatoes, beets and rest of their cooking water. Cover. Simmer at least 15 min.
- Correct seasonings. If too thin, simmer uncovered; add a little more tomato paste if needed.
- Serve hot, topped with sour cream or yoghurt and sprinkled with dill. Sour cream or yoghurt may be served on the side as condiment.
Notes from the original
- A sour environment is essential for the authentic taste and preservation of the red color, but excessive amount of acetic acid from the vinegar (esp. distilled) causes a sharp restaurant smell and taste. The cider vinegar can be replaced with sauerkraut or extra tomatoes.
- Ukrainian Cabbage Soup (Kapusniak)
- Montreal Russian Borscht
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Borscht” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-04-12, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Borscht.jpg by No machine-readable author provided. Karmosin~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.