Spoil the Son-In-Law Borshch

Sarah Chana's Note:

My mom is an old time Galicianer, from eastern Poland, who specializes in "heimish" food. My husband is from nearby Ukraine, and when we come to visit, my mother delights in spoiling him with the food he so misses and loves. This borshch is one of those classics. A warming soup, a hearty meal, a pot of love. It tastes even better the second day.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 8 quarts

• 2 lbs beef , and bones
• 4 -5 large beets , peeled and sliced
• 3 large carrots , peeled and sliced
• 1 large onion , sliced thin
• ¼ head cabbage , cut into wedges
• 1 teaspoon citric acid (to taste) or 1 teaspoon lemon juice (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
• brown sugar or white sugar or honey
• 4 garlic cloves , minced

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, boil meat and bones in water. Remove the foam. Cook on a low boil or high simmer for about 1 hour.
2. Add the beets, carrots, onions, cabbage to the soup. Add water if needed. Cook another 45 minutes, or more if you'd like.
3. Add sour salt or lemon juice and salt, bring to a boil again, and simmer another hour.
4. TASTE the soup. Add sugar/honey slowly, until it is the taste you like. It will take more than you think to get that wonderful sweet-sour taste. Cook another 30 minutes.
5. Add the garlic, cook another 15 minutes.
6. Eat with hearty bread.

Reviews

[Karishnikov]

Excellent recipe! I especially like the use of the honey, that added a little something extra this borshch needed. I also put in about 4 large potatoes. Tastes just like mom used to make.

[ROV Chef]

(This is ROV chef's wife) I made this recipe last night as a surprise for my husband since he is of Russian descent and says he likes the soup. I really didn't know what to expect, since I had never eaten, much less made Borshch before. I'm not a fan of beets, and everyone I talked to today looked at me funny when I explained what I was making for dinner! But hubby has really good taste in food so I can't imagine not liking something he enjoys! I used a brisket for the beef and used about a carton of low sodium beef stock instead of all water. I also added a potato and put in whole garlic cloves with the other veggies instead of waiting until the end. Mainly because I am lazy. :) I think I ended up cooking it about an hour longer than this recipe calls for because I wanted the meat to break up easily. I looked at many recipes but this is the one I primarily used...and wow! It was fantastic. I will definitely be making borshch again!