Name: Beet Borscht with Dill and Sour Cream
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 180 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb bone-in beef shank; 10 cups water; 3 medium beets, peeled and coarsely grated; 2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil; 1 onion, diced; 1 carrot, coarsely grated; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tbsp white vinegar; 2 yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes; 3 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded; 3 garlic cloves, minced, plus whole cloves to serve; 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped; 3/4 cup sour cream, for serving; to taste kosher salt and black pepper; to serve rye bread and salo (cured pork fat), thinly sliced

Beet Borscht with Dill and Sour Cream

4.7 from 317 home cooks Free

Ruby-red and sweet-sour, with ribbons of beet, cabbage and potato in a beef broth that tastes better the next day. A spoon of sour cream swirls pink, and chopped dill keeps it lively. Serve it the traditional way, with dark rye, raw garlic and thin slices of salo.

Prep

30 min

Cook

2 hr 30 min

Total

3 hr

Serves

Level

Medium

Cuisine

Ukrainian

Method

Step 1: Cover the beef shank with the water in a large pot, bring to a boil and skim well. Reduce to a low simmer, add 2 teaspoons salt and cook, partially covered, for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat pulls easily from the bone.
Step 2: About 30 minutes before the broth is ready, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and carrot for 6 minutes, until softened.
Step 3: Add the grated beets, tomato paste and vinegar to the skillet with 1/2 cup of the hot broth. Cover and braise gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vinegar is what locks in the deep red color.
Step 4: Remove the shank, shred the meat and discard the bone. Add the potatoes to the broth and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the cabbage and cook 5 minutes more.
Step 5: Stir in the beet mixture and the shredded beef. Simmer for 10 minutes, just until the cabbage is tender. Do not boil hard, or the color will fade to brown.
Step 6: Turn off the heat, stir in the minced garlic and most of the dill, and season with salt, pepper and more vinegar if it needs a sharper edge. Let the pot rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
Step 7: Ladle into bowls, top with sour cream and the remaining dill, and serve with rye bread, whole garlic cloves for rubbing on the crust, and slices of salo.

Kitchen note

Beet pigment is stable in acid and breaks down with long, hard boiling, so braising the beets with vinegar separately and adding them late keeps the soup vivid red.