Ukrainian borscht with pork ribs & dill sour cream

I can talk about borscht for hours. It’s no secret that almost every family has its own special borscht recipe. Some of us just can’t imagine it without beans, while others prefer to cook it without cabbage. All these options have a right to exist, because there is no single “correct” recipe, just hundreds of fascinating variations. We have already prepared hetman-style borscht and lent-friendly borscht of the Polesie region, and now we will cook a traditional Ukrainian borscht with pork ribs. It’s unbelievably fragrant and tasty. The Ukrainian soul lives in this dish, and I want you to feel it.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

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episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

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episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

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Ingredients

• 400 – 500 g pork ribs
• ¼ celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 – 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, halved
• 3 litres water
• 30 g butter, unsalted
• 1 red capsicum, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 200 ml tomato juice
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 beetroots
• 3 Allspice cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 - 4 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 garlic bulb, halved
• 1 - 2 smoked, dried pears
• Salt
• 400 g tin white beans, drained (optional)
• ¼ cabbage, thinly sliced
• Sour cream, to serve
• Dill sprigs, to serve
• Polish polski ogorki, to serve
  

Resting time: 30 minutes, better overnight

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Place the pork ribs into a baking dish lined with baking paper, then bake for 30 minutes, or until golden. Once golden, transfer to a large saucepan with the celeriac, carrot and half the onion (reserve the second half for later!) and pour over 3 litres of water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.

2. While the broth is simmering, finely chop the remaining half of the onion. In a large frying pan, heat the butter until melted, then add the onion, capsicum and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until softened. Stir through the tomato juice and paste and cook, stirring, for a further 5 – 7 minutes.

3. While the vegetables are cooking, use a box grater to grate half the beetroot, then add to the vegetables and cook for a further 3 – 4 minutes. Use a food processor with a juicing attachment, or a fine grater to juice the second beetroot.

4. Add the beet juice or purée to the broth saucepan with the pork ribs, with the softened cooked vegetables, allspice, bay leaves, potatoes, halved garlic bulb and the smoked pears. Season to taste with salt. If using, add the drained white beans to the borscht.

5. Once all the ingredients in the borscht are cooked through and tender, stir through the shredded cabbage. Cook for a further 5 minutes, then remove the saucepan from the heat. Allow to rest for 30 minutes before serving.

6. Divide borscht between serving bowls and top with sour cream, dill sprigs and serve the Polish polski ogorki on the side.

Note

Borscht leftovers can be stored overnight in the fridge and becomes even more delicious overnight, as the flavours have time to meld!

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Food Culture

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

PG

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

PG