The recipe for classic borsch has recently undergone a number of changes. So in our time, few people imagine this tasty first dish without potatoes. But quite often it is cooked without adding beets. But the recipe for classic borsch designates beets, cabbage and meat broth as the main ingredients . Cabbage can be replaced with beet tops, leaves of rhubarb, spinach, hogweed and sorrel. It also allows the use of mushrooms, prunes and even dried fruits in cooking.
There are two ways to cook classic red borsch . They are distinguished by cutting and heat treatment of beets. This main component can be cut into strips or slices and stewed in oil or broth, and then added, along with passivated onions and carrots, to the pan where the cabbage is cooked. Or beets, along with carrots, are rubbed on a fine grater and boiled in broth, where later cabbage, tomato puree or fresh tomatoes, spices and herbs are added. The second method of cooking borsch is suitable for people who are contraindicated in eating dishes prepared by frying.
The secrets of how to cook borscht are usually passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter and from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. It is known that the best chefs are men, so in some families such secrets pass from grandfather to grandson. For example, the recipe for classic borsch does not describe the form of slicing potatoes, although it allows its use. And this is a very important moment for obtaining a delicious first course cooked in modern traditions. Potatoes need to be cut in transverse small slices, the use of large pieces of potatoes gives a rough taste to the finished dish. It is correct to do this as follows: first, the peeled root crop is cut with longitudinal plates, then cut across so that the width of the plate becomes the length of the slice. One root vegetable is cooked until fully cooked in the same broth as a whole, and at the very end it is pushed to a puree state and added to the gravy.
The basis for the first dish can be both meat and vegetable broth. In different national traditions, bones, offal or pieces of meat are used to obtain meat broth in different national traditions. To get a clear broth, take fresh pork, beef, whole chicken or stomachs. In Ukraine, the recipe for classic borscht implies the obligatory use of lard with garlic. Also, classical traditions allow the use of ham, smoked brisket, bacon, and even sausages in the preparation of borsch. Moscow borscht is prepared on a broth obtained by boiling ham or smoked pork belly. The borsch is based on a naval style concentrated double fat obtained by cooking bacon in meat broth.
Cooking lean borscht is different from how to cook borscht with meat. To do this, pre-soaked beans or prunes in mushroom fat are boiled until half ready. Next, correctly chopped potatoes are added. When it boils, remove the foam and pour finely chopped cabbage. At the same time preparing gravy. For this purpose, it is desirable to chop the chopped beets, onions and carrots in butter, season with tomato juice, tomato puree or fresh tomatoes. When the cabbage becomes transparent, pour in the gravy. Add spices: bay leaf, salt, pepper, sugar to sharpen the taste, garlic, dill, parsley, green onions. Close the lid, bring to a boil again and turn off the fire. Let the borscht brew for half an hour. Before serving, you can sprinkle with portioned chopped herbs. You can eat lean borsch in hot and cold form, with the addition of sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, garlic.