📝 Ingredients
- 1kg fatty beef shin (left in large chunks)
- 1 onion peeled and left whole
- 1 bay leaf
- 2.2kg potatoes peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 carrot roughly grated
- 200g beetroot peeled and chopped into matchsticks
- 1 red pepper chopped (optional)
- ½ x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 6 prunes pitted (we used French Agen prunes)
- ½ white cabbage shredded
- 400g can red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 100ml soured cream or crème fraîche to serve
- ½ bunch dill chopped
- crusty bread to serve
👨🍳 Instructions
- To make the stock, put the meat, whole onion, bay leaf and 2 litres of lightly salted cold water in a large saucepan. Cook over a very low heat for 1 hr 30 mins or until the beef shin is soft and falls apart easily – this can take up to 3 hrs. Skim off the scum with a spoon from time to time. Break up any larger pieces of beef into the broth, remove the whole onion and discard.
- Add the potatoes to the borscht, season well with salt and pepper and cook for 10-15 mins until tender. Meanwhile, heat the sunflower oil in a large, deep frying pan. Add the diced onion and carrot, and cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the carrot is soft and is about to start caramelising.
- Add the beetroot and cook for around 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the red pepper, if using, and cook for another 2 mins, then add the tomatoes and prunes, stir, then increase the heat and boil to reduce slightly, before adding everything to the borscht.
- Add the shredded cabbage and the kidney beans, and cook for 7-10 mins or until tender. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche, lots of chopped dill and some crusty bread.