Polish borsch with dumplings (barszcz z uszkami)

A clear beetroot broth with meat or mushroom dumplings, barszcz is one of the most identifiable Slavic dishes. It is food, medicine and instant comfort for Poles the world over. The beautiful beetroot colour can turn to a dull and unappetising brown easily, so don’t forget to add the vinegar or lemon juice at the beginning to help preserve the red colour. Furthermore, letting the soup get too hot — 90°C (194°F) is too hot — at any stage will spoil the colour. It may seem strange adding the tinned beetroot, but this is Helen’s trick and it really boosts the sweet–sour flavour and adds to the visual appeal of the dish.

Ingredients

• 1 kgbeetroot (beets), peeled and cut into 2 mm slices
• 1 tspwhite wine vinegar or lemon juice
• ½ tspsugar
• ½ tspsalt
• 2 litres(8 cups) Polish soup stock
• 1dried porcini slice (remember not to put 1 mushroom too many in the barszcz!)
• 1thyme sprig
• garlic clove, halved
• 1leek, white part only, halved lengthwise
• 1allspice berry
• ⅛ tspdried marjoram
• 225 gtin sliced beetroot, drained (optional)
• chopped fresh dill, to serve
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Instructions

Put the beetroot in a large saucepan or stockpot with the vinegar, sugar and salt and toss to combine. Add the stock and all of the remaining ingredients, except the tinned beetroot and dill. Bring the soup very slowly up to 85°C (185°F) — as a guide, if you can see some steam rising off the top, but it’s not really bubbling, it will cook well and not discolour. Cook for 1½–2 hours, then remove from the heat and add the tinned beetroot immediately, if using.

Season the soup with salt, sugar and vinegar or lemon juice, to taste.

Leave the soup to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours before serving, and if possible, leave it in the refrigerator for 1 day more — this long sitting allows for maximum colour extraction from the beetroot and deepens the flavour. Strain the broth. You can now carefully reheat the soup, being careful not to get it too hot, garnish with the fresh dill and serve it with meat or mushroom uszka.

Note
• Variation: For a vegetarian version of barszcz, use a vegetarian soup stock.

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.