It’s bean soup, she said, with beets and cabbage or sauerkraut. If you make it with cabbage add a little vinegar.
What about the stock I asked.
That doesn’t matter, she said, chicken, ham – whatever.
Olga always reduced things to their most basic elements. That borsch was basically bean soup with beets and cabbage is nevertheless enlightening. As is the “and whatever.”
The Joy of Cooking’s take on it goes like this: “There are probably as many versions of borsch as there are Russians.” It opens a wide door for the “and whatever.” Their recipe calls for beef or other stock. It says nothing about beans. And it’s silent on potatoes as well. Some makers of “orthodox” borsch insist on potatoes. (In that regard Rita has “orthodox” leanings that I refuse to give into. Potato soup is something altogether different and I certainly wouldn’t make it with cabbage, unless of course I had leftover corn beef on hand). Borsch is a state mind involving cabbage and beets. It’s not one recipe, but many.
A little foresight mixed with whatever, that’s all of it. That is the joy of cooking reduced to its most basic elements. The recipes here are from notes on dinners I’ve cooked or dishes regularly cooked that result from a little foresight and whatever.
All of the almost “meals ready to eat” that have expanded our grocery stores to foot field proportions wage their provocative and relentless war against foresight and whatever.
All of the almost “meals ready to eat” that have expanded our grocery stores to foot field proportions wage their provocative and relentless war against foresight and whatever.
What’s certain about it though, this soup and all homemade are soup born from a time when one’s super market and the backyard garden were one and the same. Cabbage and beets were crops that stored well – always on hand. After that the other ingredients are “whatever.” The peasant tending his or her garden isn’t thinking about what’s for supper tonight. Their mind is more clearly focused on what shall I eat next winter. And the “whatever” might be a ham shank, a beef shank, or the legs from a tough old stewing chicken. Whatever.
Foresight is the key to a fine pot of borsch. And “whatever” is key to peasant cooking. You will not need to plant a garden for this soup, but you will need to think ahead. The soup is made with things that are always around and are cheap: dried beans, beets, cabbage, an onion, carrots, possibly potatoes and whatever. It’s ever so satisfying and delicious. And with a little foresight it’s quick.
It takes a while to cook up the beans, but how long does it take to cook up vegetables – a half hour maybe. So it’s the beans that take foresight and planning. A good stock is that way too. It takes a while but is quite manageable if you think about it ahead of time, as in “I think I’ll cook some beans and stock tonight so that I can make some borsch tomorrow.” In that one sweet decision, you will have vanquished the kingdom of food “products,” and will have embarked on the delightful adventures of simple living.
That’s it. The only thing keeping you from a fine pot of borsch is the adult realization that tomorrow evening once again it will be supper time. While tonight’s miserable frozen pizza bakes in the oven, put some dried beans and ham shank to boil for tomorrow.
You see, the tiny bit of foresight necessary to precook some beans needn’t be an insurmountable roadblock toward making this fine pot of soup.
For Borsch you will need:
1 cup of dried white beans (Great Northern beans cook faster than navy beans).
1 ham shank about 2 pounds will do.
3 baseball sized beets.
1 large onion.
1/3 head of cabbage shredded.
4 carrots peeled and cut into bite sized pieces.
2 ribs of celery cut into a small dice.
Water about 2 pints.
Allspice and ground cloves to taste (about ¼ teaspoon of each).
1 Bay leaf.
1 teaspoon caraway.
Ham soup base to taste.
Sour Cream for garnish but very important.
While the frozen pizza (or whatever meal “ready to eat”) is in the oven for dinner tonight, add the dried beans, caraway seeds, bay leaf and ham shank to a large pot. Cover generously with water, bring to a hard boil then reduce heat to an ever so slowly rolling boil. Cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the ham starts falling from the shank. If the beans have softened in this time it’s okay. If not, don’t worry. In a separate pot, boil the beets for about twenty minutes, drain and reserve in the refrigerator. (Note: They can be peeled and diced into bite sized pieces at this time too.)
Now for the finished soup: Remove the ham shank from the beans, trim off the meat and cut into bite size pieces. If the beans need to cook awhile longer get them going now, bring to a hard boil then reduce the heat to a slow rolling simmer. Once the beans have softened add the diced ham and vegetables, allspice and cloves. Continue to cook for about ½ hour until the vegetables are done. Adjust the seasoning to taste and served garnished with a generous tablespoon to sour cream on top.
No comments:
Post a Comment