Читать книгу The Soviet Diet Cookbook: exploring life, culture and history – one recipe at a time - Anna Kharzeeva - Страница 9

The week after I made a Soviet classic – grechka – I decided to follow up with another all-time favorite: borscht. Although known as an iconic Russian dish and widely consumed and loved in Russia, borscht is actually Ukrainian – an interesting thing to point out given that I was cooking it about six months into the conflict in eastern Ukraine when tensions between Ukrainians and Russians were extremely high. The Book has two versions of the recipe: “borscht” and “Ukrainian borscht” – the latter distinguished by the inclusion of lard and garlic.

Part of the purpose of the Book was to create a unified cuisine for the Soviet Union, so it incorporated dishes from a number of the republics. I think it would be fair to say that Uzbekistan and Georgia were the main contributors (outside of Russia) to the Soviet diet. Uzbekistan added plov, a dish of rice and meat, and Georgia – shashliki (meat kebabs) and kharcho soup. Cafeterias also played an important role in popularizing these non-Russian dishes across the country, but in slightly “Russified” versions.

Granny remembers discovering the difference between the local recipe for a dish and the Russian one on a visit to Georgia.

“I liked kharcho, so when I went to Georgia I ordered it at a restaurant,” she said. “But when I took one spoonful, it felt like my mouth was on fire – I couldn’t swallow it. When the waiter realized what the problem was he said: ‘ahhh, from Moscow! Then go to the Intourist cafeteria – they have some Moscow-style kharcho without the pepper.’”

“Russifying” meals is still very big in Moscow, especially with regard to Asian food – our palettes are not used to hot spices. Foreigners always smile condescendingly when told to “beware, the dish is spicy,” as they know that it will have some flavor!

The version of borscht I grew up with definitely wasn’t Ukrainian, although my great-grandmother came from Kiev. Granny always put all the ingredients in fresh, not pre-fried, as is commonly done in Russia, which made her borscht quite different from all the others. To me there were always two types of borscht: the one at home, which I liked, and all the other ones I didn’t.

The recipe from the Book turned out close to Granny’s, although of course not as good! It’s definitely much closer to the homemade borscht I’m used to than what you might find in a restaurant. Since my grandmother’s recipe is clearly the best out there (ask any Russian and you will likely hear them say the same about their own grandmothers), I am happy to share it here, and you can compare it with the one from the Book.

I went past a Ukrainian restaurant recently and an employee out front handed me a flyer with both the Russian and Ukrainian flags on it, inviting people to be friends and eat borsch. Perhaps they were afraid people would stop going to Ukrainian restaurants, given the tensions between the two formerly close neighbors. But even if Russians do stop going to Ukrainian restaurants, I’m sure nothing can put Russians off borscht, and I for one am very grateful to Ukraine for it.

Recipe:

500 g meat

300 g beets

200 g fresh cabbage, shredded

200 g onions

2 tbsp tomato paste or 100 g tomatoes

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

Boil the meat to make some broth.

Cut the beets, carrots, and onion into strips and add them to a soup pot along with some parsley.

Add tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and a little broth and a little fat (1—2 tbsp oil).

Close the lid and let the vegetables cook.

After 15—20 minutes, add the cabbage. Stir and let simmer another 15—20 minutes.

Add the broth to the vegetables along with some pepper, salt and vinegar to taste.

Serve with sour cream.

It’s possible to add potatoes, fresh tomatoes or sausage to the borscht. Cut these additions into cubes and add to the soup 5—10 minutes before serving.

Beet infusion can also be added. To make this, slice one beet; add the slices to a pot with a cup of broth; add a teaspoon of vinegar and cook on low for 10—15 minutes. Strain, then add to the borsch.

Granny’s borscht recipe:

(serves 6)

2 liters water (or meat broth)

4 medium potatoes (soak for 15—20mins prior to boiling) cut up into small cubes

1 stick celery – cut into 2 pieces and then cut in small bits or grate

Small onion (or half a medium onion), finely chopped

2 fist-sized beets – pre-boil in unsalted water for 40—50 minutes. After boiling, immerse in cold water for 3—4 mins. Grate into a dedicated bowl

4 leaves of cabbage. It is important to use whole leaves, then slice them very thinly.

3 hard-boiled eggs (reserve and add half an egg to the bowl before serving)

1 large carrot (soak for 15—20 mins prior to boiling) use largest holes to grate

Sugar – 1 tsp or a little more

½ or 1 can of green peas or 1 can red beans in their own juice

1—2 small tomatoes (better skinless) – cut up into small pieces

Salt – 1.5 or 2 tsp

Dill and parsley – 1 sprig of each to boil, to taste to serve

1 tsp apple vinegar

Sour cream to serve

1. Bring unsalted water to boil, add unpeeled beets and boil for 40—50min until soft.

2. Peel, cut up and grate all the vegetables. Boil 2 liters of water (or meat broth) in a pot, while the water is boiling, cut the potatoes in half and let them sit in cold water, then dice one and leave the other in halves.

3. When the water is boiling, put in the potatoes first and then the carrots and boil for 10—15min. Add a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Add the dill and parsley while potatoes are boiling and remove after 10—15min.

4. In 10—15 min add onion, celery stalk (grated or chopped) and tomatoes, add 1 or 2 full teaspoons of salt – boil for 5 min. Then add cabbage (it’s important to salt the water before adding the cabbage as it has to be put into salted water. Boil cabbage for 3—4 minutes.

5. Add green peas. After 3 min, add the beets and sugar. Turn off the heat and add a teaspoon of cider vinegar. Let sit for 15—20 min.

6. Serve with part of a boiled egg in each bowl and add sour cream to taste. If you are making meat borscht, distribute the meat evenly into the bowls as you serve.