FOUR-GENERATIONS BORSCHT

FOUR-GENERATIONS BORSCHT image

Yield 12 250ml bowls

Number Of Ingredients 24

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-1.75 L + 250ml high-quality beef and vegetable stock* (see note)
-Peel of one half of a lemon (no pith, just yellow skin/zest)
-5 peppercorns
-pinch of cumin seeds
-cinnamon stick
-one star anise
-2 green cardamon pods
-5 corriander seeds
-2 cloves
-large bunch of washed dill stems
-red pepper flakes to taste ~ 1tbsp
note- spices may be doubled according to personal taste. Amount listed is for a more 'traditional' taste, I like them doubled.
150 g (or one half) Spanish onion, julienned and halved in length
400ml can of diced tomatoes
155 g (about one large beet) coarsely grated raw beets
125 g (or about 2 large) carrot julienned in 5cm lengths
175 g (or about 1/4 of a large) finely shredded green cabbage
300 g (or one large) russet potato, unpeeled, in 1.5cm cubes
50 ml (or one half of a lemon) lemon juice
50 g (one large bunch) finely chopped dill
1 kg beef blade roast (alternatively, meat from ribs)
sour cream or creme crème fraîche to garnish
note:
Stock should be gelatinous and with a generous amount of fat left unskimmed, needn't be clarified. Ideally it would be made with marrow bones, meat (at least 1kg or bones and 0.5kg of meat for 2L of water), and lots of onions, carrots, parsley, green beans, leeks, green onions, parsley or the trimmings (peels, tops, etc) of these vegetables, and MUSHROOMS (important!), bay leaf, peppercorns.

Steps:

1. Season blade roast with salt and pepper, add to heavy dutch oven with 250ml of beef stock. Roast at 325F for 40min and then for approx. 2 more hours at 250F. Until connective tissue is soft and melted, but meat is not mushy. When cooled, shred/chop meat into large cubes (approx 5cm x 2cm). Reserve cooking liquid and add to borscht at any time in the cooking process. 2. Bring stock to boil and add first group of aromatic ingredients (dill stems, spices, lemon etc.) boil, covered, for 20min or until flavours have diffused into beef stock. Strain beef stock. Return to simmer. 3. -Add Spanish onion, once soup has returned to simmer, simmer, covered, for 10 min. -Add tomatoes and beets, once soup has returned to simmer, simmer, covered, for 3min. -Add carrots, once soup has returned to simmer, simmer, covered, for 3min. -Add cabbage, once soup has returned to simmer, simmer, covered, for 4min. -Add potato, once soup has returned to simmer, simmer, covered, for 8 min or until potato almost cooked. -Add chopped dill, simmer 2min. -Add cooked beef from step 1, simmer 1min. -Add lemon juice, salt to taste 4. Serve immediately or remove from heat and cool for later use. Do not allow the vegetables to be overcooked with prolonged heating. Serve with spoonfuls of sour cream, and rich yeast buns. Alternatively, sour cream can be added directly into soup before serving, 1 tbsp per 200mL of soup.