Polish Borscht Uncle Bills Style Recipes

Steps:

• In a large cooking pot, add spareribs, onion, bay leaf, allspice, black peppercorns, white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, carrots, celery and cover with 6 cups of water or more if required to cover.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the spareribs are tender.
• In large saucepan, add scrubbed beets and cover with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until beets are fork tender.
• Drain well and cover with cold water and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Peel and grate beets and set aside.
• In the meantime in a large saucepan, add potatoes and cover with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain well, mash and set aside.
• When the spareribs are tender, remove from cooking pot and strip the meat off the bones and return meat to the cooking pot. Add the grated beets to pot.
• Remove bay leaf and discard.
• Puree the soup in batches in a food processor or blender and return to cooking pot.
• Strain the soup through a sieve and return to cooking pot, discarding any solids.
• In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, whole milk and flour until blended.
• Add 2 cups of hot broth to the sour cream mixture slowly, and whisk continuously until well blended. Strain the mixture through a sieve into the cooking pot, stirring continuously; discard any solids.
• Heat the broth over medium heat to a gentle simmer, but do not allow to boil. Boiling could cause the sour cream mixture to curdle.
• Immediately remove from heat.
• Add some mashed potatoes into serving bowls, pour broth over and serve.
• Refrigerate any unused portions.

Steps:

• In a large frying pan, melt margarine over medium heat.
• Add chopped onions, grated carrots, diced green and red peppers and saute' for 5 minutes.
• Stir in green and red shredded cabbage, grated beet and saute' for 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
• Transfer sautéed vegetables to a large cooking pot.
• Add water, vegetable broth, cubed potatoes, tomato paste, chopped garlic, bay leaf, crushed peppercorns and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add cauliflower florets, chopped celery, diced apple, paprika, soy sauce, dill weed and lemon juice and simmer covered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat.
• Remove and discard bay leaf.
• Adjust seasonings to taste.
• Let borscht sit for 15 minutes before serving.
• Refrigerate any unused portion.

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine the beets, bones, carrots, parsnip, onion, leek, celery, garlic and bay leaves, plus the mushrooms, peppercorns and marjoram, if using. Top with 14 cups water. (There should be enough water to cover all the ingredients.) Bring to a boil over high.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. As it cooks, use a small ladle to periodically skim off and discard any foam, impurities and fat that have risen to the top of the pot.
• Transfer the 3 whole beets to a cutting board to cool. Strain the soup through a colander set over a large bowl. Remove the bones and press the solids to extract all the liquids, then strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium saucepan.
• Once they're cool enough to handle, chop the reserved whole beets into small 1/2-inch cubes. Stir the diced beets into the soup and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat soup over medium until warmed, then stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve very hot in small bowls or even large teacups, which you can pick up and drink. If desired, serve with a spoonful of sour cream. Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Steps:

• In a large (8 quart) stock pot, add water and bring to boil.
• Add 1/2 cup of mashed tomatoes, quartered potatoes, chopped carrots, chopped onions, salt and beets and return to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until potatoes are just cooked.
• Meanwhile, begin to prepare all vegetables.
• When potatoes are cooked, remove with a slotted spoon into a mixing bowl.
• Add 3 tablespoons butter to potatoes, mash well.
• Stir in whipping cream, mixing well to incorporate; set aside.
• In a large frying pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter, add chopped onions and saute' until just softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add remaining mashed tomatoes and simmer uncovered until reduced to a creamy consistency.
• The sauce will be thickened.
• Cover, reduce heat to keep warm.
• In another large frying pan, melt the remainder 3 tablespoons butter, add 4 cups of shredded cabbage and on medium heat, fry until softened and very lightly browned, about 15 minutes, DO NOT BURN.
• Remove from heat and set aside.
• To the cooking pot, add cubed potatoes and 1/2 cup of tomato-onion mixture.
• Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add cauliflower and celery and continue to boil gently until potatoes are just tender.
• Stir in remaining 4 cups of raw shredded cabbage and return soup to boil.
• Reduce heat; stir in mashed potatoes, fried cabbage and remaining tomato-onion mixture.
• Add diced green and red peppers, freshly ground black pepper, dill weed, lemon juice.
• Return to boil and cook for 3 more minutes.
• Cover and reduce heat to just warm and let borscht sit for 30 minutes for flavors to blend.
• Remove beets and discard or eat them separately.
• The beets are for coloring only.
• Adjust seasonings to taste.
• If borscht is too sweet to your liking, stir in some additional lemon juice.
• If desired, serve with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
• Refrigerate any unused portions.
• Traditionally, medium or sharp cheddar cheese pieces and fresh bread or buns are served with the borscht.