A Belated Homage to Sochi - Borscht with Veal

Initially this was supposed to be posted during the Olympics, but inevitably I was a little late to the "games". I actually missed just about all of the Olympics this year. 

Except for the amount of fierce Johnny Weir brought: 

So despite my lack for patriotic spectatorship, I was able to get inspired to make some pretty delicious soup that would make you feel like an Olympian. 

BORSCHT with Veal

Since I chose borscht specifically for the theme, I was at a loss for where to start. My go-to recipe database is always Epicurious. The recipe I used is based off of a recipe by Noah & Rae Bernamoff  from The Mile End Cookbook. I added veal because I'm a carnivorous lady. 

All in all I'd say it was a pretty easy recipe. The total cook time was probably about 2 1/2 hours with the bulk of that time being waiting for stock to stew.  After that it was easy-peasy. For me, the hardest part of the recipe was making the Olympic rings out of the onion, cabbage, beet, dill & tomato. 

You can find the original recipe here.

Beet Stock: 

• 6 cups of water 
• 1 onion - chop it up  (I used a red onion) 
• 1 carrot, peeled & grated  (or chopped into a million tiny little pieces like I did because my grater is crap) 
• 3 medium sized beets - peeled & grated
• 2 tomatoes - chopped (I used plum tomatoes) 
• 4 stalks of celery trimmed & chopped
• 3 whole allspice berries 
• 3 fresh bay leafs (leaves?) 
• 2 or 3 sprigs of parsley (I used dry parsley flakes) 
• 2 or 3 sprigs of dill finely chopped 
• 2 sprigs of thyme - 1 finely chopped the other whole (no rhyme or reason there that's just what I did) 

For The Soup: 

• 1 table spoon EVOO
• 1 bunch of kale, thick stems removed & cut into ribbons 
• 1 pound of veal - cut into chunks
• 1 carrot grated (again, or just chopped into tiny pieces like I did) 
• 1/4 head of cabbage (I used red cabbage solely because I liked the color better) 
• salt & pepper
• Juice from a lemon (for serving) 
• Creme Fraiche ( I abstained from the creme fraiche -- my  stomach doesn't quite tolerate the lactose) 

Prep: 

Combine all the stock ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. 

One thing worth mentioning that the Epicurious recipe kind of glided over was the massacre that would take place in your kitchen in the process of grating a beet. Definitely easier said than done I'd say. Honestly if you've just done your nails or something, I'd just chop the beets up into smaller pieces and add about a half a cup of canned beet juice in. 

After you've brought the stock to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer with the lid on for about 2 hours. Go watch 2 episodes of Law & Order on Netflix and come back and give it a stir whenever there's a new suspect introduced (or just every 15 minutes or so). 

When the stock isn't at scalding hot levels, strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down on the mixture to extract all the liquid. OR if you're like me and don't own a mesh sieve, use a colander and do your best to complete the former step without spilling hot beet juice all over your cardigan. 

The Epicurious recipe mentions that the broth itself (without any of the solids) can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Honestly, I don't really understand why you would be storing the broth when you're about two steps away from completing the dish-- but it's your soup not mine so do what you want with that little tidbit. 

Making the Borscht all Borschty: 

Pour the oil into a large pot (probably the same one you just used); place it over medium heat and cook the veal. I minced an extra clove of garlic and added a another sprig of thyme just for flavor. After a few minutes, add the kale, carrot & cabbage. Stir them up and cook them until they're about al dente. Take the broth and pour it into the pot while stirring. Add salt & pepper to taste and add the lemon juice. Cook until veal is thoroughly cooked (duh). Serve it while it's pipin' hot and add your dollop of creme fraiche if that's your thing. 

I don't know about you but, I still can't take creme fraiche seriously because of: 

Maybe that's just me. Creme fraiche or no creme fraiche, accompany your soup with some red wine & you're eating like an Olympian! Or something.