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Borscht with pork ribs, beans and bell pepper

Oven-Braised Borscht with Pork Ribs, Beans, and Bell Pepper

What makes this dish special is the slow braise! Here's an original recipe for borscht cooked the old-fashioned way—in the oven, the way it was made in village homes across the country.

The Patricks channel

Recipe author

Borscht with pork ribs, beans and bell pepper

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Garlic

Parsley

Dill

Allspice

Hot chili peppers

Beets

500

Potatoes

Pork ribs

Dried beans

100

Carrots

500

Bell peppers

Cabbage

500

Tomatoes

500

Tomato paste

400

Bay leaves

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 24 % 5 g

Fats 29 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 48 % 10 g

112 kcal

GI: 90 / 0 / 10

Cooking method

Step 1:

Prep the vegetables for the cast-iron pot. Grate the carrots and beets. Shred the cabbage into long strips. Cut the potatoes, bell peppers, and tomatoes into medium pieces. Cut the ribs into small serving-size pieces. The rest of the ingredients can stay whole.
Step 2:

Layer all the prepped vegetables and meat in the cast-iron pot, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Don't forget to add the bay leaves and allspice. Pour in about 4 liters (1 gallon) of fresh water.
Step 3:

Put the pot in the oven for at least 3 hours. If you leave it to braise overnight, it'll be even better—in the morning you can enjoy a wonderful, rich, hot soup. Enjoy!

The best soup isn't the one that's boiled, but the one that's slowly braised. There's a saying that there are as many recipes as there are homes in a village, and it fits this dish perfectly—feel free to adjust the ingredients to your taste, leaving out the beans or swapping things as you like. Just as much care goes into what you serve it with: garlic rolls (pampushki), bread, raw garlic cloves, peeled onion, green onions, garlic rubbed onto bread, and so on—and that's only part of the list. A whole tradition has grown up around this soup over the centuries. These days borscht is usually cooked on the stovetop, which still turns out delicious, but modern slow cookers and ovens let you braise it low and slow. You won't get the old smoky aroma that way, but the heart of the recipe stays the same—and that's what matters. Enjoy!