2 lb beets
1 large carrot
1 medium parsnip
1 medium turnip
2 large celery ribs
2 medium onions
1 large bay leaf
3 peppercorns, use 4 if desired
3 dried boletus mushrooms, or
1/2 lb chopped mushrooms
1 ; liquid from the cooked mu
1 qt beet kvas, or
1 tsp sour salt, crystalized citric acid i
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper, or to taste
2 tsp fresh dill, chopped
Directions
Soak boletus overnight. Cook in a little water until tender. Cool,
reserving the liquid, and chop finely. Scrub the beets and cut into
quarters. Cover with water and cook over low heat until tender,
about 1 to 2 hours. Cool and pour off the liquid, reserving it. Slip
off the peels. (Wear rubber gloves to prevent purple hands.) This may
be done a day in advance. Peel and cut up the other vegetables. Add
the bay leaf, peppercorns, and boletus or mushrooms to the
vegetables, with enough water to cover, and cook, in a large aluminum
pot over low heat, until tender. Strain the beet liquid into the
vegetables. Shred the beets in a processor or on a medium grater, and
add. Simmer for about 10 minutes and strain into a large pot. To
keep the broth clear, do not press the begetables. Add the beet kvas,
mushroom liquid, pepper and salt. bring to a gentle boil, then turn
the heat low. Taste, the flavor should be tart, mellow, and full. For
more tartnes, add fresh lemon juice or sour salt. Keeps well in the
refrigerator. Reheat gently; do not overcook or the color will turn
brown. To serve, pour over 3 or 4 vushka (dumplings) in soup plates
and garnish with the fresh dill.
NOTE:
The next recipe in this series will be for Vushka.
Servings: 10 servings
Pisnyi Borsch (Meatless Beet Soup) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Meat; Russian; Soup; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as an idea can be found far back into the far past, in fact as far into history as the early Egyptians, and possibly even further. In practice though, sadly, these early records were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to Professor Solomon Katz, are a few clay tablets in Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who tried it feel exhilarated. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we find some books from the 1300s ; one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, these books are not about the spicy food that we all know today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals prepared by the chefs of the wealthy. Over the next few hundred years, the powerful and rich strove to serve up the best banquets, and consequentially cooks and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that cooking and cookery books became popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated their lives to assembling, trying out, and publishing the recipes of their peers. The arrival of TV gave us TV chefs and the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to search through thousands of recipes just like those on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Pisnyi Borsch (Meatless Beet Soup) recipe.
