Ingredients

• 800 g beef on the bone, brisket or shank
• 3 L cold water
• 2 leaves bay leaves
• 8 black peppercorns
• 500 g beetroot
• 500 g potatoes
• 400 g white cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp 9 percent table vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley
• to taste salt
• 200 g smetana

Method

1. 01
   Start the broth Put the beef in a large pot, cover it with the cold water and bring it slowly to a boil over medium heat, skimming off the grey foam as it rises.
2. 02
   Simmer the beef Add the bay leaves and peppercorns, turn the heat to low, partly cover the pot and simmer gently for one and a half hours until the beef is tender.
3. 03
   Prepare the vegetables While the broth simmers, peel and cut the beetroot into thin matchsticks, cube the potatoes, shred the cabbage, grate the carrot and chop the onion.
4. 04
   Shred the meat Lift the beef out of the pot, pull the meat off the bone, cut it into bite-sized pieces and return it to the broth, discarding the bone and bay leaves.
5. 05
   Cook the potatoes Season the broth with a teaspoon of salt, add the potatoes and simmer for ten minutes.
6. 06
   Fry onion and carrot Meanwhile, heat the sunflower oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat and fry the onion and carrot until soft and golden, about seven minutes.
7. 07
   Braise the beetroot Add the beetroot, bell pepper, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar and one ladle of hot broth to the pan, stir, cover and braise on low heat for fifteen minutes until the beetroot is tender.
8. 08
   Add the cabbage Stir the shredded cabbage into the pot of broth and simmer for five minutes.
9. 09
   Combine and simmer Tip the beetroot mixture into the pot, stir, and simmer gently for ten minutes without letting it boil hard.
10. 10
    Season with garlic and herbs Stir in the crushed garlic and most of the dill and parsley, then taste and adjust with salt, a pinch more sugar or a little more vinegar until it is pleasantly sweet and sour.
11. 11
    Rest the borshch Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the borshch rest for twenty minutes so the flavours settle.
12. 12
    Serve with smetana Ladle the borshch into bowls, add a spoonful of smetana and the remaining herbs, and serve hot with garlic pampushky or dark rye bread.