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Steve's Famous Borscht
Recipe from Steve Savitzsky
You will need:
A Very Large Pot. It is difficult to use too large a pot. When our
older daughter was two years old, she used to play in ours. We could
have gotten the lid on. A wooden spoon long enough to reach the bottom
of the pot while you still have a good grip on the handle -- you're
going to need it.
A large lump of meat. 3-4 lbs. (1.4-1.8 kg) of beef chuck roast is a
good place to start. At various times, we have also added a ham shank,
marrow bones, and ribs. Yesterday, I used about 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) of
chuck roast and the ribs left over from the Christmas roast beef.
Root vegetables. Beets, of course, but also parsnips, rutabagas, and
turnips. Sometimes, we add potatoes, but not this year. We had 9 rather
large beets, 3 rutabagas, 3 turnips, and 2 parsnips this year. We have
sometimes used as many as 6 bunches of small beets.
Onions, garlic, and carrots, which of course are also root
vegetables.
A head of cabbage.
Seasoning: 6 peppercorns and 3 bay leaves. (I couldn't find the bay
leaves this year.) Sour salt, optional.
Sour cream and fresh dill, for garnishing.
Start by cutting up the onions, chopping the garic, and sauteeing them
in olive oil. Meanwhile, brown the meat in a little more olive oil, in
the bottom of your Very Large Pot.
Combine the onion/garlic mix with the meat, and add water to cover. If
desired, throw in a whole onion and a couple of whole carrots. Put in
the peppercorns and bay leaves.
Cut the tops and tails off the beets, and put them on a baking sheet.
Turn your oven to 350°F (175°C), and put the beets in to roast.
Take a 45-60 min. break.
Take the beets out of the oven. Cut the rest of the roots into 1" (2.5
cm) cubes. Toss the parsnips and carrots into the pot — they take
the longest to cook.
After you've cubed the raw roots, the beets will be cool enough to
handle. Peel them (with a paring knife) and cut them into julienne
strips.
Fish the meat, bones, and whole vegetables out of the pot and put in the
rutabagas and beets.
Take another break — about an hour. Put in the turnips (and
potatoes if you want them). Cut the meat into 1" (2.5 cm) cubes.
Put the meat back in the pot. Shred the cabbage and add that. Stir, if
you can. You may need to add water, too; it depends on whether there's
any room left in the pot, and whether you want your borscht to be more
like a thick soup or a stew.
Let it cook for another hour or so. Drink some vodka (or gin — I
prefer gin). If you're anything like me, your back will be hurting at
this point, even if you had sense enough to sit down while chopping the
roots.
About an hour after you added the cabbage, it's done. If it's too sweet,
add sour salt to taste. Add ordinary salt to taste, if you like.
Top with a glop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped, fresh dill.
Enjoy.
Serves a dozen or so. For a smaller family, it provides enough leftovers
to last all week.