Borsch from Tarascha in the Kyiv Oblast, Central Ukraine

“Recipes from Joanne Pryhorocki Potter"

"I'm sharing with you the recipes I gathered from relatives and friends when I visited Ukraine. I first learned about existing relatives in the fall of 1993 and planned a trip to meet them in 1994, but due to my father's illness we delayed the trip until May of 1995.

I found the unique summer kitchens very interesting and the women treated me as one of their own. I asked questions about the various foods they prepared and made sure I took notes so that I could try my hand at making the traditional foods when I returned home. The women were very willing to share their cooking secrets and even gave me my turn in the kitchen to prepare for the whole family the version of their bread dough holubtsi recipe that we make in America.

My relatives gave me the ingredients but not the amounts and told me to just make enough for however many people were expected. They made it sound so easy, and it was -- for them. For me it was a real challenge to work with the recipes to get the right measurements for making a tasty dish. I had another challenge with the metric system, since I'm familiar with only our basic measurements.

The following recipes also include some from American relatives who originally came from Ukraine or are of Ukrainian heritage:

Borsch
Stacia Kabanuk Pryhorocki, Milton-Freewater, Oregon U.S.A.

Stacia is my mother. Her mother was from Tarascha in the Kyiv Oblast, Central Ukraine and her father was from Chaplynka in the Cherkasy Oblast in Central Ukraine. Some Ukrainian folks call this Red Borsch because of the beets in it. I grew up on this soup recipe and still make it almost weekly. Serve with warm bread and butter and you have a very good meal.

1 cup chopped fresh beets
1 cup chopped fresh carrots
2 cups green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 or 4 medium potatoes, cubed
1 quart chopped or shredded cabbage
1 pint fresh or canned tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh dill weed, chopped
salt to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons flour
cream
minced garlic, to your taste

Put the chopped beets, carrots, and green beans into a 6-quart kettle with about 2 quarts of water and cook a little while. Then add the rest of the vegetables, dill, and salt and cook until vegetables are tender, adding more water for the desired consistency.

Saute finely chopped onion in oil in a small frying pan and add flour. Stir until smooth. This is used as a thickener; add this to borsch when vegetables are cooked.

Add some cream and the freshly chopped garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Serve.

Variations: You can use a meat broth or cook a soup bone in water first or add meat to the above. You can also substitute dried beans for the green beans.”