“ — And yet is there any soup more heavenly than the sort of soup in which you put a great dollop of cream?

— Borsch, — she sighned. — And it is really the only soup I like.”

(W. Somerset Maugham, “A String of Beads”)

Borsch is the blood of Ukrainian land. Experienced travellers, once they are in Ukraine, naively wonder, why our country is so corrupted, ladies are so beautiful, roads — so immensly terrible, and how borsch is cooked. So, cherishing a noble dream of answering at least one of those questions and setting my dear friends free from writing some receipy of borsch to their non-Ukrainian friends, I decided to write this note.

Have you ever wondered what is in common between borsch and Ferrary?.. Except of its bloody red colour of passion. The borsch, as well as Ferrary, is not an art but a science. The science of timing, feeling when enough is enough, and appreciating small things that make a huge difference. To cook some borsch, you need a proper mood that burns your fingertips with a desire of creativity, the set of veggies (yes, raw red beet might be an issue when you are outside ofour corrupted yet blessed land), and a music that makes you flying high and holding the knife with all your might. I use to listen this.

That is what you need for 4–5 l of this divine plate

So. You may look on a picture above and just skip, but I will make this list anyway:

When you have found raw red beet it is a luck

For a true borsch you need a piece of meat: pork ribs or a neck, or some home-grown chicken. If you don’t eat meat, go to part II. AND/OR a cup of kidney beans + prunes (yes, it sounds a bit strange, but it makes the taste very rich and compensates the absence of meat). Raw red beet. Cabbage. Onion. Carrot. (You may also add a piece of celeriac or parsley root. Just in case you have it in fridge and have to idea what to do with it.) Tomato juice or toamato paste, or pretty much raw tomatoes without skin. Potatoes. Dill (it is not a proper borsch without some dill or at least parsley. But don’t even try cilantro!..) Garlic. Laurel, peper, chilly. Paprica suits very well, too.

Put the music on. Here we go. I. A genuine and long borsch-hardcore reciept.

For a simplified and vegan borsch-light please skip and go to II.

Put the meat in the water and start boiling the boullion.

It might take 1h from the start to ready borsch in case of pork, and 1–2h if you have got home grown poultry. So, with a poultry start in advance please.

2. Peel and cut the beet, carrot and onion.

the smaller the pieces are, the lesser time they need for being cooked

4. Roast onion and carrot, and after a while add a beet. Use butter please, not an oil. When you roast veggies, their essencial oils and carotinoids are extracted to the butter and preserved in the best condition for your future delights.

5. Now it is time to cook beet. Add you tomato juice or toamto paste. Close the lid. Make the heat less. The acidic medium will preserve both water soluble vitamins and antocian — the pigment which makes beet as red as your girl-friend’s lips. Have I already told you that the borsch is a science?.. Now wait 45 minutes listening to the music and preparing the rest of the veggies.

6. Cut the cabbage and peel the potatoes.

7. Take away the meat — it should be ready. Cut it into nice small pieces. Put cabbage, potatoes, and meat into the boullion. Let it be cooked till it’s ready.

8. When the potatoes are cooked, add that red veggie substance into the boullion. Add salt, pepper, laurel. Let it boil a bit.

you see — cooking borsch is very picturesque and Insta-friendly task

The colour is as red, ans Carpaccio’s paintings

9. When you feel that it is ready, add garlic, chilly, dill, close the lid and turn off the heat.

Sometimes it is better to be mad about the borsch, but not a boy

10. Finally! It is done. To be honest, the borsch tastes the best on the second day, but you definetely deserve trying it right now. Sour cream, rye bread and even some salo and horilka would make the taste absolutely perfect and authentic.

II. Borsch-light. It could be cooked either in a vegan mode solely with kidney beans, or with meat, or with both, but in the latter case consider timing — meat needs more time than the beans.

1. If you are using kidney beans, soak them overnight in a cold water.

2. Start cooking your borsch. The soaked beans need 45 min to be ready.

3. Peel and cut the onion, carrot, and beet.

3. Put into the boullion these veggies, and close the lid. It you’ve got a vegan’s borsch, add some oil please. It will keep the essencial oils from evaporating.

4. When the beans are soft and edible, add potatoes and cabbage, and cook until ready.

5. Add tomato juice/tomato paste and even prunes if you are that sophisticated.

6. Add salt, pepper, garlic, laurel, and dill and let it boil just a moment under the lid. Turn off the fire.

7. Serve it with sour cream and rye bread. Enjoy!

Now your life would never be the same as before.