You will need fermented beetroots for this borscht. Please scroll to the bottom of the page to find the recipe for fermented beetroot.
First, place dry porcini mushrooms into cold water and let them soak for 3 hours. Cut fermented beetroot and soaked mushrooms into fine strips. Place everything in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 25 minutes.
If you are using nettle for this recipe, you need to place it into boiling water before cooking to get rid of the sting. Then, wash the greens of your choice under cold running water and cut into strips. Place greens into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Take them out of boiling water and place into a strainer.
Heat butter on a skillet and add flour. Cook the flour constantly stirring, until it develops a light golden color. Then, add 4 tablespoons of mushroom broth, one by one and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 7 minutes. Strain the mixture to get rid of any lumps.
After beetroots and mushrooms are done boiling, add cooked greens, flour mixture and cook for another 3 minutes.
You will need
For borscht
- Water – 6 cups
- Dry porcini mushrooms – 2 oz
- Fermented beetroot – 14 oz
- Sorrel – 14 oz
- OR nettle – 14 oz
- OR spinach – 14 oz
- OR beetroot greens – 14 oz
- OR any mix of the above greens – 14 oz
- Sorrel – 14 oz
- Butter – 1 tablespoon
- All purpose flour – 1 tablespoon
- Salt – to taste
Making fermented beetroot
Peel the beetroot and cut into chunks. Place into a deep pot, add salt and water mixture and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Put a wooden cutting board on top and cover with a weight, preferably, a granite stone. Place into a dark warm place. Remove any foam that might appear during fermentation process. Wash the cutting board and the stone every few days. Leave the beetroot to ferment for 15 days. When fermentation is done, transfer the beetroot into a cold place.
You will need:
- Beetroot – 3 pounds
- Water – 6 cups
- Salt – 2 tablespoons
Option:
You can use dried beetroot instead of fermented one. In this case, you need to wash dried beetroot (4 oz) and cover it with 10 times more water. Leave it to soak for 4 hours and then strain and wash beetroot again. Cut into strips and cook with mushrooms.
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