Beef Borscht with Rice and Button Mushrooms
This is not canonical borscht but a home improvisation on a clear beef broth. Rice thickens the liquid, mushrooms add chew, and together they pull the bowl toward a one-dish supper. Note how little beef it takes — 100 g, about 3½ oz per liter (4 cups) of water; the broth, not the meat, is the point.
The color rests on a single move: the beet is braised separately with sugar and vinegar and goes in last. Acid stabilizes betanins, the pigments that break down over a long boil and turn ruby borscht a dull brown. Once the beet is in, the pot comes off the heat rather than back to a simmer.
Use short-grain rice; it opens up slightly and releases starch. And dry-saute the mushrooms in a hot pan until their moisture has gone before adding any fat — that keeps them from squeaking and the broth from clouding.
The half hour under a lid off the heat is part of the recipe, not a rest break: raw garlic gives up its aroma, its rawness settles, and the flavors round out. Serve with green onion and a spoonful of smetana — the full-fat sour cream stirred into every Ukrainian soup; US sour cream at full fat behaves the same, low-fat will streak.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 464 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Boil the beef, then strain the finished broth.
Add the rinsed rice and cook for 15 minutes.
Cut the mushrooms into large pieces, saute them, and add to the rice.
Thinly slice the onion and carrot, saute until soft, and drop them into the soup.
Peel the beet, shred it into thin strips, and braise in oil with sugar and vinegar.
Once the beet is soft, add it to the borscht, season with chopped garlic, remove from the heat, cover, and let it rest for at least half an hour.
Before serving, garnish with chopped green onion and sour cream.
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