Borscht with TrueBrodo bone broth

A Ukrainian classic with rich organic bone broth, beef, and fresh vegetables.

Traditionally, borscht is often prepared with beef on the bone. The meat is cooked for a long time to create a rich, aromatic broth. However, such pieces of meat with bones are not always easy to get today and are often expensive.

We make it a little easier: We use regular beef stew and our TrueBrodo beef bone broth. We have already gently simmered the bones for 24 hours. The rich base is therefore already ready, and we can focus entirely on the meat and the fresh vegetables.

Ingredients

For 4 generous portions

• 600 g beef stew

• 2 glasses of TrueBrodo Beef Bone Broth or Roasted Beef Bone Broth (355 ml each)

• 700–900 ml water

• 150 g bacon for rendering (alternatively 2–3 tbsp lard or clarified butter)

• 2 onions (approx. 200 g)

• 2 carrots (approx. 180 g)

• 250 g beetroot, raw

• 300 g Savoy cabbage

• 300 g potatoes

• 200 g canned pelati tomatoes (or 2 fresh tomatoes, if available)

• 3 cloves of garlic

• ½ bunch of fresh parsley

• Salt and black pepper

• Sour cream or crème fraîche for serving

Preparation

1. Cook the beef

Heat the two glasses of TrueBrodo bone broth (710 ml) together with 700 ml water in a large pot. Add the beef stew to the hot broth, bring to a quick boil, and then let it simmer gently over low heat.

Depending on the size of the meat pieces, the total cooking time is approximately 1½–2 hours. The meat should be nice and tender at the end.

2. Prepare the vegetables

While the meat is cooking, roughly cube the potatoes and cut the Savoy cabbage into fine strips. Finely chop the onions, and cut the carrots and beetroot into fine matchsticks. You can also grate some of the beetroot to give the soup more color. Finely chop the tomatoes and garlic as well.

3. Render the bacon and sauté the vegetables

Slowly render the bacon in a separate pan until it is crispy. Remove and enjoy separately – we only need the fat for the borscht. Alternatively, use lard or clarified butter.

In the fat, first sauté the onions and carrots for a few minutes. Then add the beetroot and sauté for another 3–5 minutes. Finally, add the tomatoes and garlic and sauté briefly as well.

Deglaze with a ladle of hot bone broth from the meat pot, mix well, and set aside.

4. Potatoes and Savoy cabbage – 30 minutes before the end

As soon as the beef is almost tender and likely needs about 30 more minutes, add the potatoes and Savoy cabbage directly to the broth. Let both simmer gently for a total of 30 minutes.

5. Remaining vegetables – 20 minutes before the end

After 10 minutes, add the already sautéed vegetables from the pan to the large pot. Let everything simmer gently for another 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the meat is nice and tender.

Add a little more water if necessary and season with salt and black pepper.

6. Serve

Ladle the borscht into deep plates, add a generous spoonful of sour cream or crème fraîche on top, and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.

Our tips

Which bone broth?

For our borscht, we used one glass of TrueBrodo Beef Bone Broth and one glass of Roasted Beef Bone Broth. Two glasses of the classic Beef Bone Broth work just as well. The Roasted Beef brings additional rich roasted aromas.

The quick version

Instead of beef stew, you can also use à la minute beef medallions or thinly sliced pork shoulder. Cut the meat into fine strips and only let it cook briefly in the hot broth at the end. This way, the borscht is ready in about 40 minutes.

Even better the next day

Borscht often tastes even better when reheated. If it can sit overnight in the refrigerator, the flavors blend particularly well.