Ukrainian Borshch with Pampushky

Ingredients

• 800 g beef short rib or meaty pork ribs
• 3 litres water
• 3 medium beetroots (about 500 g), peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 300 g white cabbage, finely shredded
• 3 potatoes (about 400 g), cut into 2 cm cubes
• 1 large carrot, coarsely grated
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 60 g salo or fatty pork back fat
• 4 garlic cloves for the salo paste
• 1 small bunch dill, chopped
• salt to taste
• smetana, to serve
• 300 g strong white flour, for the pampushky
• 7 g fast-action dried yeast
• 180 ml warm milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil for the dough
• 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed, for the dressing
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil and 2 tbsp water, for the dressing
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Before you cook

• Peel the beetroots and cut them into matchsticks rather than cubes, which keeps the colour bright.
• Shred the cabbage finely and cut the potatoes into 2 cm cubes.
• Coarsely grate the carrot and finely chop the onions.
• Chop the dill and the parsley, and crush both lots of garlic separately.

Steps

1. Put the ribs in a large pot with the water, bay leaves and peppercorns, and bring it slowly to the boil.
2. Skim off the grey foam as it rises, then lower the heat and simmer the broth for 90 minutes.
3. Stir the yeast and the teaspoon of sugar into the warm milk and leave it for 10 minutes, until it froths.
4. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, pour in the yeasted milk and 2 tablespoons of oil, and knead for 8 minutes to a soft, smooth dough.
5. Cover the dough and leave it somewhere warm for an hour, until doubled in size.
6. Lift the ribs out of the broth, pull the meat off the bones and return the meat to the pot.
7. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion and carrot for 8 minutes, until soft.
8. Add the beetroot matchsticks, tomato paste, the tablespoon of sugar and the vinegar to the pan.
9. Cook that mixture on low heat for 12 minutes, stirring, until the beetroot softens and the colour stays deep red.
10. Drop the potato cubes into the simmering broth and cook them for 8 minutes.
11. Add the shredded cabbage and cook for 5 minutes more, until it is just tender.
12. Tip the beetroot mixture into the pot and simmer everything together for 10 minutes.
13. Knock the risen dough back, divide it into 12 balls and set them close together in an oiled 22 cm round tin.
14. Heat the oven to 200C.
15. Cover the tin and let the rolls rise for 25 minutes, until they touch and look puffed.
16. Brush the rolls with beaten egg and bake them for 20 minutes, until deep gold.
17. Pound the salo with 4 garlic cloves and a pinch of salt in a mortar until it becomes a smooth paste.
18. Stir the salo paste and most of the dill into the borshch, then take the pot off the heat.
19. Whisk the remaining crushed garlic with 3 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of water, the parsley and a pinch of salt.
20. Spoon that garlic dressing over the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.
21. Let the borshch stand covered for 20 minutes, then taste it and adjust the salt and vinegar.
22. Ladle it into bowls, add smetana and the last of the dill, and serve the pampushky alongside.