Saturday 2 June 2007

Farewell Russia - A cup of Borscht

Russia has been fun but the sun is shining and to celebrate Little Foodies are off to Australia tomorrow, well actually this afternoon. For many reasons, firstly we're bbq'g with our lovely neighbours today. Also because there are many wonderful Australian chefs that we can choose from, for lots of clean, fresh tastes which are going to be perfect for this weeks weather.. See the power of positive thinking... Also my grandfather's brother went to Australia on the £10 tickets many, many years ago, so I'll be thinking of all my relatives.

Farewell Russia with a celebratory cup of Borscht. (Can you guess my favourite thing about the picture... The sun glinting off the spoon. The soup looks cloudy but the sunshine is there in that spoon!!)

Borscht (Russian Beetroot Soup)
I found so many recipes for this it was really hard to choose one but I got the general idea that you needed a heap of beetroot and other root veg and then you made a soup. I think you could play with this recipe a lot.

I got a bunch of beetroot (about 6 pieces) and roasted them in the oven for 1 hour. Let them cool, peeled them and chopped into chunks.
I then chopped and peeled a small swede, 2 carrots, a parsnip, 3 medium potatoes, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic and a small handful of chopped dill and curly parsley as it's what we had lying around (definitely not authentic).
I threw all of this in a pan with approx three quarters of a pint of chicken stock and simmered for 25 minutes. I then blitzed with my stick blender. Poured into cups, then topped with soured cream mixed with chopped dill.

We didn't get round to making the zyriniki but I think we'll head back to Russia again when the weather is cold. For now the sun is shining and I have a real need to be cooking and eating outside. It's the perfect remedy for madness brought on by cabin fever.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

That Borscht looks wonderful! I am so tempted to make a pot of my own! I can't wait to see what Austria brings??? Raindrops on Roses and Crisp Apple Strudels???

Anonymous said...

DOH!!! Now I feel dumb...CRIKEY!!! You said Australia! Oh well, I can't wait to see what you come up with from there as well!!!

Kelly-Jane said...

I love the colour of borscht, and your looks yummy. you even caught the sun :)

Truffle said...

That borscht does look fantastic indeed! Am so pleased you'll be heading to Australia next. I'll definitely stay tuned :)

Cottage Smallholder said...

You had to make borscht on your Russian trip so well done to make this ubiquitous dish with your own twist.

We give borscht to friends that drop round for super and can't say no. It is actually very good. Yours reads better.

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh yes, the sunshine is there in that spoon. What a wonderful picture and recipe. You have bought it to life.

Cherry xx

Susan said...

So healthy. I love borscht with a huge dollop of sour cream. Not healthy. :)

Your Chicken Kiev looks marvelous, and authentic, too. I haven't made it in a while, but I do remember freezing the butter. It does make it easier.

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi Marie, tee hee! I'm sure we'll get round to Austria but I was desperate for sunny food.

Hi KJ, it was a long time coming!

Hi Truffle, might e-mail you to pick your brains.

Hi Cottage Smallholder, It was really tasty. I've had it made by other people before and it did taste different so they probably followed an authentic recipe, either way it's good.

Hi Cherry, Thank you. Glad you had such a good trip to Italy.

Hi Susan, I try not to put dollops of cream in soup but it's difficult if it's in the house. The kievs were really good.

Thank you all for your comments. It's really lovely to get them.
Amanda

Anonymous said...

Hey Amanda!

What a cool way to travel the world - I'll be back for more!

Borscht is such a great winter soup, and, in my part of the world, that is when there are plentiful vegetables!

Freya said...

Borscht beautiful Borscht! I just love the ruby colouring mottled by sour cream and tinted with dill! And it really has such a great flavour (I Like it with dumplings too!). Can't wait for next week!

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi Anita, Thank you very much. I love the sound of your ice cream.

Hi Freya & Paul, Thank you. With dumplings now that would have made that soup complete!

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