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Green borscht
Zelenyi borshch: spring sorrel soup with egg and dill
When the first sorrel comes up in village gardens around Chernihiv and Sumy in May, Ukrainian grandmothers stop making red borshch and switch to green: a light, lemony soup of sorrel, potato and herbs, served with halved boiled eggs. It is the soup of early summer and of Trinity Sunday, eaten hot with sour cream or chilled on a warm day. Sorrel gives it a clean sourness, so no vinegar is needed. This version uses vegetable stock instead of the chicken or pork stock some families use. Chef's tip: add the sorrel only in the last two minutes; it turns olive green the moment it hits the heat, but if it boils longer it collapses into stringy khaki threads.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the soup
To serve
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 4 eggs in a small pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 9 minutes for firm yolks. Cool them in cold water, peel and set aside.
12 minStep 2: Bring 6 ¼ cups vegetable stock to the boil with 1 bay leaf. Add 14 oz potatoes and simmer over a medium heat for 12–15 minutes, until a cube crushes easily against the side of the pot.
15 minStep 3: While the potatoes cook, heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion and 1 carrot for 6–7 minutes, until soft and golden at the edges. Tip them into the pot.
7 minStep 4: Add 3 ½ oz young spinach and 4 spring onions and simmer for 1 minute. Add 7 oz fresh sorrel and cook for no more than 2 minutes, just until the leaves darken. Common mistake: long boiling after the sorrel goes in, which makes the soup murky and stringy.
3 minStep 5: Turn off the heat, stir in 3 tbsp dill, 1 ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper and taste; it should be pleasantly sour. Remove the bay leaf.
Step 6: Ladle into bowls, add a halved egg to each and top with 4 tbsp sour cream (smetana). To serve cold, chill the soup for at least 2 hours and chop the eggs into it.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does green borscht take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of vegetable stock?
- Chicken stock, same amount (not vegetarian).
- What can I use instead of potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
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