Thursday, July 21, 2011

Borscht: My Favorite Comfort Food!

It's sure been a while since I posted, but I have been playing in the kitchen more and have some new recipes!


Borscht was a staple in our house growing up, and I have tried several recipes as an adult and not loved any of them.  So I combined the good parts of a few and threw them in a basic stew, and the results were delicious!

Ingredients:
  • 2 Tbs butter
  • 1-2 lbs of beef short ribs, bone-out, cut into 1" chunks
  • 1/2 C carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2" chunks
  • 1/2 C celery, chopped into 1/2" pieces
  • 1 medium yellow onion, roughly diced into 1/2" pieces
  • 2 Tbs AP flour
  • 1 large sweet potato*, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
  • 4 large beets, peeled and sliced into (large) bite-sized bits
  • 1 C apple cider vinegar
  • 2 C beef broth
Mix vinegar and beets in a medium bowl, then add water to cover.

Heat large dutch oven over medium-high heat and turn oven on to 350.  Melt butter, then add beef and brown it, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes.  Then add onions, carrots, celery, and a scant tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper.  Continue to brown meat and vegetables until onions are translucent and carrots and celery are beginning to brown.  Sprinkle flour over the top and stir for about a minute more, until flour is evenly coating everything.  Add broth and two cups water, stirring constantly until you are sure there are no flour clumps.  Add sweet potato.  Drain beets and add them to the stew.  If needed, add more water until almost everything is covered.

If using an oven-proof dutch oven, put cover on and place in the oven for an hour.  If not using an oven-proof dish then continue to simmer on the stove top for about an hour.  Season to taste.

Serve with plenty of sour cream and a good loaf of crusty bread.

*We're not eating white potatoes at the moment, but if you are you could certainly use boiling potatoes instead of the sweet potato