A daughter of the Talas valley, cooking in Chicago
Jibek's Dastorkon
borshch

Borscht

Time 2 h 30 min Serves 6 For Cold evenings, name days in Nurzhan Posted Soviet kitchenIrad
Illustration of Borscht

In Nurzhan every Russian-speaking grandmother has her own borscht. My friend Olga’s mother, Tamara, ladled hers out for half the building on cold October evenings, wearing a flowered apron and singing along to the radio. I learned it in her kitchen on holidays from university in Talas, standing at her elbow while she scolded me, very kindly, for grating the beets too thick.

Borscht came to us in the Soviet years and stayed. In the cities it is now an ordinary weeknight soup, and in Nurzhan it is a favourite name-day dish. We make it with beef, and I put a spoonful of qatiq on top when I have no sour cream. Tamara would forgive me.

Ingredients 6 servings

  • For the broth
  • 800 gbeef short ribs or brisket on the bone
  • 2.5 Lcold water
  • 1 onion, peeled and left whole
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.5 tspsalt
  • For the soup
  • 400 gbeetroot, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 150 gcarrot, coarsely grated
  • 150 gonion, finely chopped
  • 3 tbspsunflower oil
  • 2 tbsptomato paste
  • 1 tbspvinegar or lemon juice
  • 400 gpotatoes, cut in 2 cm cubes
  • 300 gwhite cabbage, thinly shredded
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tspsalt, or to taste
  • 0.5 tspblack pepper
  • To serve
  • 6 tbspsour cream or qatiq
  • ·fresh dill, chopped
  • ·bread

Method

  1. Put the beef, water, whole onion, bay leaves and 1.5 tsp salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 1 h 30 min until the meat is tender.
  2. Lift out the meat and the onion. Discard the onion. Cut the meat off the bones into bite-size pieces and return it to the broth.
  3. Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Fry the chopped onion and carrot for 5 min until soft.
  4. Add the beetroot and the vinegar and fry for 5 min, stirring. Stir in the tomato paste and fry 2 min more, then add a ladle of hot broth and simmer 5 min.
  5. Add the potatoes to the broth and cook for 10 min.
  6. Add the cabbage and the beetroot mixture. Simmer for 15 min until the potatoes and cabbage are soft.
  7. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the garlic, turn off the heat and let the pot stand covered for 15 min.
  8. Serve hot with sour cream, dill and bread.
From my kitchenThe vinegar fixes the colour of the beetroot. Add it while the beetroot is frying, not at the end, or the soup turns brown.

With love from my kitchen to yours,Jibek

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