Borsch with Prunes

Borsch is popular with many Slavic peoples, its recipe has many variations, often very different from each other. One of the most unusual varieties of this soup from beet and cabbage is borsch with prunes. It is believed that such a first dish was first thought up by the inhabitants of certain Kuban settlements, thanks to which the names “Kuban” and “Yuzhny” were attached to borsch with prunes. It is made with meat or without it, they often add beans or vegetables, which are rarely found in the traditional versions of this dish (zucchini, eggplant). However, the process of cooking this extraordinary soup differs little from the classical technology of cooking this type of first course.

Cooking Features

Even if you cook borscht according to the most unusual recipe, you need to strive for it to be red, tasty, tasty and thick. To do this, you should follow the basic technological principles of preparing the appropriate variety of filling soups.

One of the most important tasks in cooking borscht is to ensure that it has a bright reddish tint. Beetroot and tomato give this color to the soup, which can be successfully replaced by tomato paste. Beetroot is one of the vegetables that are cooked quickly. If it is put into the soup too early, the color will boil out of it, as a result of which both she and the broth will acquire a dull burgundy tint that does not cause appetite. There is a solution: put the beets in the soup shortly before it is ready, about 10 minutes before you decide to remove the pan from the stove. So that she has time to cook for this time, it should be prepared in advance. Traditional recipes for borscht suppose it is sautéing or stewing, to bake a soup with vegetables, it is baked or steamed whole.
Acids contribute to color retention. If you mix crushed beets with lemon juice or vinegar, it is more likely to retain a rich color.
If you use products for borscht that require long cooking, such as beans, they should be prepared in advance and added to the soup along with vegetables.
Try to observe the correct ordering sequence of the products so that it does not happen that some of them are digested, others are half-baked: usually potatoes are laid first, then cabbage, after other vegetables. If the soup is cooked with beans, you need to start cooking it before potatoes.
If you decide to boil the soup in meat broth, do not forget that when cooking it is important to remove the foam protruding on the surface. The broth will be more transparent if during the cooking process it does not boil too vigorously. It should be cooked over low heat without closing the pan tightly. It is useful to strain the broth, before laying in it the main products.
If you add fresh herbs to the saucepan with the soup, let it boil for 2-3 minutes, otherwise it can quickly sour.
Borsch is tastier if given the opportunity to insist.
Prunes for borscht is better to take pitted. Connoisseurs say that tastier borsch is obtained from slightly smoked dried fruit.

Classic borsch is served with sour cream, but this rule does not apply to soup with prunes. Sour cream will not spoil it, but it turns out delicious without it.

Borsch with beans and prunes

Composition:

beef on the bone - 0, 6 kg;
beans - 150 g;
beets - 0, 2 kg;
onions - 0, 2 kg;
carrots - 150 g;
white cabbage - 0, 3 kg;
pitted prunes - 100 g;
tomatoes - 0, 2 kg;
garlic - 5 cloves;
salt, spices - to taste;
tomato paste - 20 ml;
vegetable oil - as required;
water - 3 l.

Method of preparation:

Wash the beans, cover with water and leave for 6-12 hours, then rinse again.
Wash the beef, cover it with water. Heat the pot over medium heat. When the water boils, boil for 10 minutes, removing the foam, then reduce the heat, lower the onion to the bottom of the pan, freeing it from the husk, and spices. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the meat for about an hour.
Remove the meat from the broth and cool. Strain the broth itself. Discard the used bulb.
Return meat to broth by cutting into small pieces. Put the beans in it. Return the pot to the stove. Boil about 30 minutes after the broth boils.
While the beans are boiling, peel the beets and cut them into thin strips.
Grind carrots on a coarse grater.
Drain prunes with warm water. After 10 minutes, squeeze and cut into small cubes or thin strips.
Cut the remaining onion into thin half rings.
Heat the oil in a skillet, fry the onion in it for 5 minutes. Add beets and carrots. Cook them for another 5 minutes.
Add tomato paste. Pass it with vegetables for 2-3 minutes.
Boil the tomatoes, peel, dice, put in a saucepan to the rest of the vegetables. Add prunes at the same time. Simmer over low heat until soft beets.
In parallel with cooking a borscht dressing, finely chop the cabbage.
Cut potatoes into cubes of one and a half centimeters.
Half an hour after laying in the bean soup, add potatoes to it, after 5 minutes, add cabbage and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.
Add a dressing, boil for 7-8 minutes.
Finely chop the garlic and greens, put in the soup, mix. Salt and pepper it to taste. After 2-3 minutes, remove the pan from the stove.

Let the soup sit under the lid for 20-30 minutes, after which it can be poured into plates. Gourmets say that this soup is especially well combined with cheese cheesecakes, which can be served instead of bread.