My mother-in-law is visiting from Ontario and I like to spoil and cook for her when she’s here. She loves comfort foods and one of the dishes she’ll joyfully spoon up is borscht.
I decided to make her some after seeing some fine local beets at the supermarket. This root vegetable is the star ingredient in borscht and because my beets were so fresh and vibrant, I knew they would yield great bowls of it.
Borscht is a soup that originates from Eastern Europe and is frequently simmered in places such as Ukraine and Poland. Immigrants to Canada brought their taste for it here, along with diverse techniques for making it.
In some recipes the beets for borscht are peeled when raw, shredded or thinly sliced, and then stirred into the soup. In other cases, the beets are boiled skin-on, and then peeled, cut and added to the soup.
When it comes to texture, some borschts are brothy, thin and swimming with ingredients cut with precision. Other borschts are thick, chunky and what I would call country-style. You’ll also find recipes for smooth, puréed borscht that, depending on the season, could be served hot or cold.
Borscht sometimes contains one or more types of meat, or no meat at all. Beyond beets, borscht can also be rich with all kinds of other vegetables, and even wild mushrooms and legumes.
With so many styles of borscht, I struggled deciding what type to make for my dear mother-in-law. So, because I had purchased both purple- and golden-coloured beets, I decided to make two types, knowing that any leftover borscht would freeze well and could be enjoyed later in the year.
I used the purple beets and their leafy tops to make a thicker, country-style borscht and I spread the work over two days.
On Day 1, I made a broth for the soup by simmering a meaty, smoked pork hock in chicken stock, water and flavourings until tender. The hock was then removed from the pot and its succulent meat cubed and later added to the soup.
The hock-flavoured stock was strained, cooled and refrigerated overnight, which allowed the fat that was rendered out of the hock during cooking to rise to the surface and solidify, making it easy to remove the next day.
I grated raw, peeled beets for that borscht, which ensured the taste of beet would be thoroughly distributed throughout the soup and flavour every spoonful of it.
Beyond the beets and their greens, which I chopped, and the pork, I also added sauerkraut, a range of other vegetables and dill to my soup. It turned out to be an ultra-hearty borsht and was even more so when topped with sour cream.
The second type of borscht I made was meat-free and more refined; being something a fine restaurant might serve. After cooking and cooling golden beets, I peeled, cubed and simmered them in vegetable stock with onion and garlic, before puréeing the soup until silky smooth.
Once in the bowl, my golden beet borscht was garnished with sour cream and, for even more richness, some coarsely crushed hazelnuts. Because the beets were fairly sweet, for a last and balancing touch, I drizzled the top of soup with balsamic crema. It’s reduced balsamic vinegar that added a tangy taste and a striking streak of colour.
My mother-in-law enjoyed both types of borsht, but the chunkier one with the pork hock was her favourite as it was the style she was most familiar with. You’ll find recipes for both types below and on page D 3, so you, too, can determine which borscht stirs you the most.
Borscht with Smoked Pork Hock and Sauerkraut
Make a meal of this hearty borscht by serving it with buttered slices of dark rye bread. Any leftover borscht, once cooled to room temperature, will freeze well.
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About two hours
Makes: About eight servings
For the pork hock stock
1 (2 lb./900 grams) smoked pork hock
6 cups chicken stock
5 cups cold water
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
10 whole black peppercorns
Place all ingredients in a tall pot and bring to a slow simmer (small bubbles should just break on the surface).
Slowly simmer, uncovered, for 90 minutes, until the pork hock has softened and the meat is pulling away from the bone. Lift the hock out of the pot and on to a plate, and then set aside.
Strain the hock stock into another pot. You should have about eight cups. If you don’t, top up with a water or more chicken stock until you do. Cool the stock to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
When the hock has cooled to room temperature, cut or pull off the meat and discard the skin and bones.
Cut the meat into small cubes, set on the plate, cover and refrigerate until needed.
For the borscht
3 large beets with green leafy tops attached
2 Tbsp butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 medium celery stalks, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup rinsed and well-drained sauerkraut
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups tomato juice or vegetable juice, such as V-8 or Garden Cocktail
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 medium white-skinned potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill, or to taste
• sour cream to taste
• fresh dill sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Trim the green leafy tops of each beet. Wash those beet greens well and then pat dry. Coarsely chop the beet greens, set in a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Peel each raw beet before coarsely grating. Set in a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Remove the hock stock from the refrigerator and skim or lift off any fat that settled of the surface. Set the stock aside for now.
Melt the butter or heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook five to seven minutes, until softened. Mix in the garlic and cook one minute more. Mix in the grated beets, sauerkraut, tomato paste, 2 cups of the hock stock, tomato (or vegetable) juice and vinegar, and then bring to slow simmer. Partially cover the borscht and very gently simmer 35 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and nicely combined.
When the beet mixture has simmered 10 minutes, place the pot with remaining 6 cups of hock stock on the stove. Mix in the cubed pork, potatoes and chopped beet greens. Bring to simmer and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes
When the beet mixture has simmered 35 minutes, stir it into the pot with the potatoes, pork hock and beet greens. Thin borscht with a little more stock or water if you find it too thick. Stir in the chopped dill and heat through a few minutes, and then season the borscht with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, top with a dollop of sour cream, garnish with dill sprigs, if using, and enjoy.
Golden Beet Borscht with Hazelnuts and Balsamic Crema
This golden, smooth-version of borscht is enhanced with rich nuts, sour cream and sweet- and sour-tasting balsamic crema. Balsamic crema is reduced balsamic vinegar found at specialty food stores and in the deli or vinegar aisle of most supermarkets.
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: About 60 minutes
Makes: four to six (one to one and half cup) servings
1 1/2 lbs. golden beets without tops (about 5 medium to large beets)
2 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 cups vegetable stock
osalt and white pepper to taste
1/3 cup whole, shelled hazelnuts, toasted, skin removed and lightly crushed (see Note)
osour cream to taste
obalsamic crema to taste
ofresh dill sprigs, for garnish
Place the beets in a pot and cover with at least two inches of cold water. Set on the stove and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When boiling, lower the heat until the water is gently simmering. Simmer and cook the beets until tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.
Drain the beets, and then fill the pot with cold water to cool them. When cool enough to handle, lift the beets out of the water and trim off the stem and root ends. Now peel, or simple slip off, the skins off each beet. Cube the beets and set in a bowl.
Melt the butter, or heat the oil, in a medium pot set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about five to seven minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute more. Mix in stock and cubed beets and bring to a simmer. Simmer the soup 10 minutes.
Purée the soup in the pot with an immersion blender; or purée in a food processor or blender. Return the soup to a simmer, and then season the soup with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle the soup into shallow bowls. Set a dollop of sour cream in the centre of each bowl. Top each soup with a few small drizzles of balsamic crema. Top each soup with some hazelnuts and a dill sprig and serve.
Note: To toast and remove the skins from the hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the hazelnuts in a single layer in a small baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly toasted and the skins start to crack. Transfer to a sided-plate, tightly wrap with plastic wrap and let stand five minutes (the trapped steam rising from the hazelnuts will cause their skin to pull away from the flesh). Uncover and, with your hands, rubbed the skins off the hazelnuts. Place the skinned hazelnuts in a thick plastic bag, coarsely crush by hitting them with a kitchen hammer or rolling pin, and they are ready to use.
Eric's options: Instead of hazelnuts, try coarsely chopped walnuts on this soup. On a warm summer day, instead of serving the soup hot, you could serve it cold. To do so, after pureeing the soup, cool it to room temperature and then refrigerate at least three hours. To serve, lade the chilled soup into chilled bowls and top as described in the recipe.
Eric Akis is the author of The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
