It may seem just a bowl of beetroot and cabbage with meat stock, but to the housewives of Kiev, Borscht used to be the common denominator in every family kitchen. From small Kiev apartments where students and singles lived, to luxury Kiev hotels, it was recognised as the city's 'soul food'.
The first thing those from Kiev will tell you is that Borscht isn't Russian, it's Ukrainian. Every Ukrainian cook has developed their very own way of making 'Borshchevik' which comes from the Slav meaning 'hogweed' - a now forgotten but important vegetable to Slavs, as the leaves and stalks made great soup.
There's thin, thick, smooth, lumpy, and rich Borscht. Some use Kvass (a mild fermented liquor), others use lemon, non traditionalists dare to add basil, some add dried apples, marrow, and even prunes, but the basic ingredients haven't really changed in generations; stock made from beef bones, chopped onions, carrots, potato, cabbage, tomato, grated beets and garlic, plus the all-essential addition of Salo which is pork fat. (Salo and garlic are to Ukrainians what olive oil and tomatoes are to the Mediterranean). The finished product takes an average cooking time of around three hours.
The soup is usually then served with a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley, plus a generous dollop of sour cream. The best borscht is said to be one that has a velvety sweet texture and is rich and stocky, and offers a contrast to the chunkiness of the vegetables. Borscht is a full meal in itself, but if one is ravenously hungry, you could then risk a seriously filling meal in a Kiev Hotel by going on to order a plate of galushki, which is large portions of pasta topped with fried chicken and covered in garlic sauce.
The pigsties of Poltava have always supplied the best pork for Salo, situated between Kiev and Kharkov, one of the country's eastern cities. Many a foreign pig farmer has seen fit to travel to Kiev, and having sampled slivers of Salo at breakfast in their Kiev hotel they will then travel on to a pilgrimage to Poltava. It's here they seek out the data on the breeding stock that offers this unique product in what can probably be called the heartland of borscht.
There are always accommodations in Kiev which can satisfy an urge for borscht at almost any time of the day or night. Breakfasting on borscht sets one up for the day, and you can always take some back to your Kiev apartment to reheat later on.
Take the metro and go to Pdol, which is the old port area. Here there is a branch of Ukrainian's very own fast food chain Puzata Khata. This place always has a queue of waiting customers starting from 8am, all keen to kick start their working day with a steaming bowl of borscht. The chain boasts 27 restaurants in 12 other Ukrainian cities, and it's here that you can breakfast, lunch or dine on Borscht.
