Borscht is the core foundation of culinary heritage and family dining in Ukraine. After participating in the HUSI lecture on Friday, June 26, Ukrainian Culinary Heritage: Bread, Borscht and Beyond with Marianna Dushar, the Head of the Ukrainian Culinary Heritage Project "Seeds and Roots" and a member of the "Club of Galician Cuisine," I was inspired to share my family’s culinary heritage. In this lecture, Marianna Dushar shared multiple variations and nuances of cooking borscht, and much more!

Borscht comprises many vegetables that provide a healthy dining option. Cans with prepared soups do not taste the same as traditional Ukrainian borscht, prepared and customized to the family’s taste. For this reason, I would like to share my family’s traditional borscht recipe with you, the masterpiece of my mother's cuisine.

For a traditional taste, it is essential to use only homemade sauerkraut. Sauerkraut may be available at several stores, but making it at home will enrich the taste of borscht. Many recipes for sauerkraut are available online, and they may be adjusted based on your taste preferences.

Eating homemade bread with borscht also contributes to a truly Ukrainian gastronomic experience. There are many recipes available for baking bread at home, and Ukrainian people prefer various kinds of bread depending on their family origin and flavor preferences.

Finally, the psychology of cooking is crucial to the taste of the prepared meal. Therefore, it is important to have a positive sentiment when preparing borscht.

I hope that you will enjoy my family’s Borscht recipe and have a fun experience while cooking it!

Traditional Ukrainian Borscht Recipe

Cooking time: 2 hours

Essential Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 whole bay leaves
• 5 Tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 fresh red beet, peeled and grated
• 1/3 cup of beans (white and red)
• 1/2 cup of prepared sauerkraut (ideally homemade)
• 1/2 cup of tomato puree (prepared from fresh tomatoes)
• 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 white onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• Dill
• Salt
• Garlic

Instructions:

1. Boil water (5 liter pot, ideally).
2. To the boiling water, add 5 cubed potatoes (reserve one for later) and whole bay leaf (3 dried small leaves).
3. Boil white and red beans separately in a large pot of water. 
4. On а frying pan, pour 5 Tbsp of sunflower oil and add chopped onions, grated carrot, and salt. Fry until soft.
5. Add grated beet to the frying pan.
6. Let the vegetables on the frying pan cool and then put them into a blender along with the remaining cubed potato.
7. Grind the vegetables with the blender and then add them to the 5 liter pot with boiling potatoes and bay leaf, along with the separately boiled beans (drained).
8. Add sauerkraut and tomato puree to the 5 liter pot.
9. Boil for 10 min.
10. Grind garlic and fresh dill (add them to finished borscht at the end).
11. Enjoy!

Oleksandr Zavalov is a highly motivated student at North Penn High School, PA. A native English, Ukrainian, and Russian speaker, he takes opportunities to challenge himself and advance his education. He was born in Kyiv to a family of physicists and notes that his grandparents are from Volhynia, where they suffered from Soviet repression. He is taking Prof. Grabowicz's literature course during the 2020 Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute.