A type of borsht (barszcz) for Christmas - recipe or ideas

hi all, my father tries and mostly fails every easter and Christmas eve to make what we know as "borsht" (barszcz). he has found several recipes for red beet borsht but that is not what he is seeking. he said my gram and aunts used yeast and oatmeal in their versions of the soup. any help will be appreciated. also i am looking for polish cookbooks printed in english. the books i seem to find were printed in the 70's and written in Polish. thanks in advance.

hi mike - it seems as if the forum has gone half to sleep over the festive season - i'm sure they'll wake up soon and come to your rescue. in the meantime, check out the food and drink section - maybe you'll find something there?

I've got Polish cook books but someone bought me a Polish cookbook written in English.

Was bought in a London bookshop in the early 90's but I can see it on Amazon uk and lots of sites in USA too.......recipes are good.

amazon.co.uk/Recipes-Polish-Kitchen-Bridget-Jones/dp/1850762082

Book is called 'Recipes from a Polish Kitchen'by Bridget Jones (lol @ authors name)

You can google though and get some decent Polish recipes too. You can look up the different versions , say for one recipe, then decide which one to print off. Some American sites though do change the authenticity of some of the Polish recipes but on the whole you should find some reasonable information via Google.

Happy cooking,lol.

:)

:P

Thread attached on merging:
help!

hi everyone, i posted a topic in the general discussion as well.

christmas eve we eat a type of borsht. the recipe consists of water, yeast and oatmeat. my father tries every year to make it right but it never seems to work. my ancestors brought this recipe from poland but im not sure what area. the last 2 generations are now all gone so we are left hanging. all i know is what the recipe calls for and that we call it "borsht". it is apparently a 100 year+ old recipe. thanks,Mike

heres an idea I eat it with uszki always always always,theyre a bit like pierogi but smaller and the two ends are stuck together wich makes a shape of sortof an....ear!

Funny, I just had barszcz and uszka for dinner. By the way, what's the difference between uszki and uszka? The packaging shows uszka.

Ok I know exacly what you mean biały barszcz -white barszcz
It is like a special start to make the " soup barszcz " you have to make it in advance
of makeing the soup .

I haven't made it for a long long time now but
that is how you make it more or less.

first boil 1.5L of water and leave it to cool. then in a large stonware saucepan or jar take wholmeal flour- with wheatgerm about 1.5 cups , about 1 tea spoon salt .
and one clove of garlic - pour the water over the dry ingredients and stir ( you can add extra wheatgerm flakes if you like ) then most importantly take few (1 or 2 about 3 cm long) crust from sourdaugh or rye bread and put in mixture also .
taste it it should be salty , add more salt if it is not.

leave it in a dark place for 2 or 3 days , remember to stir it . When it is done it should be
sour and salty in taste.

Once it is done you use this to cook the soup . In polish deli you can buy it in a packet
it is called Żurek .

Good luck

my Babcia taught me how to make uszka i barszcz last christmas....hope this helps... ja kocham Polska!
Uszka Dough:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 whole eggs, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup warm water
Mushroom Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium size onion, finely chopped
1 pound Porcini mushrooms, washed and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preparation:
·Sift the flour into medium size bowl. Beat the eggs and combine with water, sour cream and melted butter. Add moist mixture to the flour and mix well. Knead dough until soft and smooth. Cover with warm cloth and set aside while preparing filling (for about 20 minutes).
·In a medium size skillet melt the butter and add the onions. Cook for couple minutes or until just soft and translucent. Add chopped Porcini mushrooms and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring frequently. Cool for couple minutes.
·On the floured surface roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough into 2-inch squares. Place some Porcini mushroom mixture in the center and fold over the dough, sealing the dough edges with water carefully.
·Cook in boiling, salted water for about 10 minutes or until they come to the top. Drain well and pour lightly with melted butter. Serve uszka as a side dish with barszcz or just put them into the barszcz.

Smurf
Stefania Śmieja-Henry

For recipes on how to make both white barzscze (aka żurek) and red barszcz, including the tart beet, oat or rye sour needed to produce the real thing, check out 'Polish Heritage Cookery', all in English, published by Hippocrene of NYC.