Borscht is rich, unusually beautiful,a delicious soup, well known to all fraternal Slavic peoples since the legendary times of the golden-domed Kievan Rus. It is unlikely that you will find a second course with such a varied, rich recipe. Borscht is prepared not only with pork and beef, but also with duck and goose meat, with crucian carp, herring, smoked meats, even with seafood. The venerable Mrs. Molokhovets, the pre-revolutionary guardian angel of all young housewives, for example, without embarrassment advises adding a bottle of expensive French wine to borscht. In fact, the only constant ingredient in borscht is beetroot. However, before selflessly embarking on bold experiments, it is better to prepare the dish according to the classic - simple, but exquisite - recipe.

The old good unfading classic

Before you start cooking borscht with beets,you should make sure that there are no huts burning nearby and no unruly horses frolicking. Having put out the fires and calmed down the unyielding steeds, we go for the necessary products. To prepare borscht according to the recipe, you will need:

• 1 kg of beef brisket;
• a small head of white cabbage;
• 2-3 carrots;
• 2 medium bulbs;
• 3 cloves garlic;
• 3-4 potatoes;
• half a lemon;
• a small, in 70 g, a jar of tomato paste (can be replaced by 2 tomatoes);
• 4-5 pieces of the crown vegetable - beetroot.

Cook the meat for 1.5-2 hours, remembering to remove it regularly.foam. 20 minutes before the meat is ready, put a whole peeled onion and a whole carrot in the pan, which are carefully removed intact after cooking, and thanks to them the broth acquires a rich color and aroma. 30-40 minutes before the expected readiness of the meat, you can leisurely work on the vegetables - wash and peel them. Finely chop the cabbage, chop the onion, grate the carrots and beets coarsely. First, lightly fry the onion and carrot, add the garlic squeezed through a garlic press, then put in the beets, pour the juice of half a lemon and simmer for about an hour. If there is not enough liquid, add a little water, or better yet, broth, which should be completely cooked by that time. About 10 minutes before the end of stewing, add tomato paste or a few chopped peeled tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes with thick tomato juice will do. After finishing with the dressing, take the meat out of the broth and put the cabbage in there. After about 10 minutes, add the potatoes. Wait another half hour until the cabbage and potatoes become completely soft, add the stewed vegetables, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Meanwhile, cut the boiled meat into pieces and put it back in the pan. Cook for another 10 minutes until fully cooked, turn off the heat. It is not forbidden to immediately start tasting the dish, generously seasoning it with herbs and sour cream, but connoisseurs recommend letting the borscht sit for several hours or even a day. Ideally, borscht is eaten with the famous Ukrainian pampushkas, but they are perfectly replaced by a hefty slice of black bread, greased with garlic, with a piece of not too fatty lard.

How to stay full and slim

Borscht recipe without lard and completely without meatSuitable for convinced vegetarians, women who are jealous of the curves of their slender figures, adherents of healthy food and simply for people who strictly observe Lent. Suitable also for refined gourmets who believe that the rich taste of meat does not emphasize, but, on the contrary, overshadows the delicate taste of juicy aromatic stewed vegetables, not allowing them to reveal themselves in all their glory. The recipe for lean but hearty borsch requires the following products:

• 1-2 pcs. beets;
• 1-2 pcs. carrots;
• 5-6 not too large potatoes;
• 0,5 kg of white cabbage;
• 1 onion;
• 1 pepper Bulgarian;
• 1-2 pcs. tomatoes (or a small pot of tomato paste).

Place the coarsely grated beetroot in a frying pan,Add a tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of grape vinegar, wait 5 minutes to allow the beets to soak well and not lose their amazing picturesque red hue during cooking. Then add a glass of water and simmer the beets for half an hour under a closed lid over low heat. Chop the onion and green pepper, coarsely grate the carrots; fry in sunflower or corn oil, adding chopped tomatoes or replacing them with tomato paste. Put the cabbage, shredded into strips, into the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Put the diced potatoes into the cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes. At the final stage, add the stewed vegetables to the pan and cook everything together for 5-10 minutes. Generously season with fresh herbs and serve. If desired, you can crumble a little hot red pepper into the pan at the cooking stage.

Home preparations for borsch

In addition, there is a first-class recipepreparations for borscht. It is perfect for using surpluses from your home garden wisely and with pleasure, and at the same time pampering your loved ones with an appetizing dish even in the midst of the winter season. It will take some time and effort to prepare, but the efforts will pay off handsomely. The vegetable base prepared with your own loving hands is much tastier, more nutritious and healthier than the mixtures sold in frozen food departments in stores under the guise of "borscht". So, for this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

• 1,5 kg of beet;
• 1 kg of tomatoes;
• 2 kg of cabbage;
• 2-3 large onions;
• 0.5 kg of carrots;
• 2 Bulgarian green peppers.

Needless to say, vegetables should be washed andclean. Chop the cabbage, cut the onion and tomatoes into cubes, chop the pepper, don't forget to remove the seeds, coarsely grate the beets and carrots. Put the vegetables directly into the pan, pour in a glass of water, 1.5 cups of vegetable oil, add 3 tablespoons of sugar and salt. When the vegetable mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for the next 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. At the end, add 100 ml of 9% vinegar, mix well again, and put into sterilized jars. After rolling up, let the jars cool for a day, and then take them to the cellar or pantry. Based on this canned mixture, amazing borscht is cooked easily and quickly in both vegetable and meat broth.

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