From Alla Okova's Moscow Kitchen to Yours

{This excellent Borsch is from Alla Okova’s Moscow kitchen to yours. She dictated it in Russian to her husband Sergey who happily translated it into English for us. The words within { } are my additions for clarity. David}

The outcome: 3 litres {approx 3 quarts} pot of Borsh {Borsch is a more common English spelling.}
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Ingredients:

0,5 kg {approx 1 pound} of veal or beef; better on the bone or ribs (without bone is also possible)

2 middle-sized potatoes {small chop} {Notes are below on chop, dice and mince.}

1/2 of a cabbage head (about 15 cm in diameter) {2.54 cm equals 1 inch so the cabbage head would be approx 6 inches in diameter} {chopped}

1 big beet root (say 8-10 cm in diameter) {approx 4 inches in diameter which would be a very large beet here in the US. If necessary approximate the amount with smaller beets. Grated}

1 big onion {diced}

1 big or two smaller carrots {diced}

1 tomato {chopped}

2 small cloves of garlic {minced}

greenery (parsley or/and dill) {according to taste – dill as a garnish on the ladled soup is very standard}

1 tea spoon of soup aromatizer, whatever you like (Alla uses VEGETA usually) {Vegeta seasoning can be found on Amazon.com. If you have a favorite soup seasoning use it to taste. I have never used a seasoning in Borsch so I have no experience with it.}

1 table spoon of salt
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Time to prepare: 1 hr 45 min and then half of the day under cover before put to the fridge.
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Instructions:

First the meat broth should be prepared. Put 0.5 kg of meat into the cold water and boil (water level - 3/4 of the pot's height) at strong fire first.

The dirty foam which will appear on the surface should be taken away thoroughly by skimmer (perforated spoon). If you haven't a skimmer you may use normal spoon but it is less convenient. After the dirty foam is stopped to appear on the surface the fire should be done low.

{We could also say, bring the water and meat to a boil and then when the foam has stopped reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer.}

The water level should be maintained at 3/4 of the pot. Pour fresh water for that if the level is down because of vapourising.

It takes one hour until the broth is ready. After that the meat should be taken out of the pot, removed from the bone (ribs), cut finely and then put back to the pot. The level of water is 3/4 as usual.
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Then (in one hour since beginning and 45 min before the end) you should add 2 middle sized potatoes cut finely, and so a half of the cabbage head cut finely (the less {smaller} are the pieces the better is the taste) and 1 big beet root grated on the grate. It is better to use grater's side with bigger holes.
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Meanwhile PASSIROVKA (failed to find exact English term in the dictionary!) should be prepared. {This is a sauté and a very good way to proceed.}

It is cut finely {diced or small chop} 1 big or two smaller carrots, 1 cut onion, 1 tomato all stewed in the oil on a pan. The fire should be small, a cook has to shuffle content continuously to avoid burning or sticking till the colour of Passirovka will become golden-brown. It takes about 5 minutes. Then Passirovka should be also added to the pot.
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A table spoon (bigger one) of salt should be added 10-20 min till the end, 1 hour and 25-45 min since beginning of the cooking. At the end (2-5 minutes till finishing) add cut greenery and two cloves of garlic cut as small as you can. {minced}
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After finishing (1 hr 45 min since you started to prepare broth and 45 minutes since you start add vegetables) the pot should stand under cover without fire of course, for a half of a day (2 hours at least). Then you can taste your borsh or put it into the fridge... Of course you can eat it immediately but the taste wouldn't be as delicious as should be. Borsh is the best at the 2nd and 3rd day. On the 4th day it is still normal, on the fifth day the taste is worse. Not too bad you still can eat it but the quality is moderate. I'd like to say on the first day it is B, on the 2nd and 3rd day A, on the 4-5 days C.
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Don't be shy to ask details which I probably missed.
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Borsh is also VERY good with mushrooms but this is another story.
Yours,
Sergey {Okov}

{Notes on chop, dice and mince. In the US we would say that the ideal chop is a small cube no bigger than 1/4 inch on each side – that would be about 6 to 7 mm. A dice would be about half that – about 1/8 inch or about 3 to 4 mm. A mince is about as small as you can cut with a knife by cutting the diced item several times with a rocking motion of the knife on a cutting board.}

We are very proud to present this borsch directly from Moscow from our friend Sergey and his wife Alla.

Enjoy,

David