Ukrainian Borscht in Polish Style

A Polish variation of a popular Ukrainian beetroot soup – borscht.

Cut the brisket into big pieces and wash under running water. Place meat pieces into a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Remove any foam as soon as it starts to boil. Then add roughly chopped beets, carrots, parsley root, celery root and yellow onion. Add salt, cover with a lid and cook the broth for 2 hours. When the broth is ready, take the meat out and toss the vegetables. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and strain the broth.

Cut yellow onion, carrot, celery root, parsley root and golden beets into small cubes. Place vegetables into a small pot, add enough water so it only covers the veggies. Place the pot on the stove on medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar and cook everything for 15 minutes. In the meantime shred green cabbage and add it to the pot and cook for another 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and take the vegetable out of the water. Pour the water out.

Bring the broth back to a boil. Add cubed potatoes and cook it for 10 minutes. Then add pieces of boiled brisket, let it boil for 5 minutes and add stewed vegetables. As soon as it starts boiling again, remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

Mince fresh garlic. Collect the fat from the surface of the borscht and place into a little bowl. Mix with minced garlic. When serving the borscht, add a tablespoon of garlic mixture into every bowl. Adding sour cream is optional.

You will need:

For broth:

• Water – 5 cups
• Beef brisket – 14 oz
• Golden beets – 7 oz
• 1/2 carrot
• 1/4 celery root
• 1/2 parsley root
• 1/2 yellow onion OR
  1/2 leek
• Salt – 1 1/2 teaspoon

For borscht:

• Golden beets – 7 oz
• Fresh green cabbage – 5 oz
• 2-3 medium potatoes
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 parsley root
• 1/4 celery root
• 1/2 yellow onion OR
  1/2 leek
• Sugar – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – to taste

To serve:

• Sour cream
• Garlic – 3 cloves

Options:

1. You can make this borscht without meat. Just add the vegetables into a pot with water and cook vegetable broth for 1 hour. You will need to use the same amount of veggies as the original recipe.
2. You may add tomato puree to the borscht. In this case add 3 tablespoons of puree along with stewed vegetables.