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Welcome to the third country of the 195 Country Cooking Challenge - where I cook a popular dish from all 195 countries around the world! If you missed the first two countries - I cooked the most popular dish from The United States of America and Jamaica. Along the journey, I will be sharing these recipes with you plus some interesting facts about each country. My goal is to teach you a bit about each country while you eat or cook their cuisine! Today, I will be cooking a dish from Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe.
The National Dish of Ukraine
For this country, I will be making Ukraine's official national dish...BORSCHT! Borscht is a soup made from beets, beef broth, potatoes and cabbage. The name comes from the Slavic word for 'hogweed'. It is unknown when this famous red soup was actually invented, but it was likely in the 1600s. Originally, borscht was made with cow parsnips. These were collected in May and left to ferment in a pot until they became sour. This was primarily eaten by the poor until the late 15th century. Ukrainians are credited with adding beets to this once-sour soup, giving it the red color and making it slightly sweet. There are still many different versions of borscht, but adding beets is now common.
The best part about borscht is that its fairly easy to make! I will go through the recipe below, but if you would like a more streamlined approach, you can check out the official recipe here.
Facts About Ukraine
What is it about this country that makes it so unique?
In the 9th century, the state of Kievan Rus' emerged. Kievan Rus' was a kingdom that occupied present-day Ukraine, Belarus, and a small part of Russia. It was the first East Slavic state and made up of Vikings and Eastern Slavic people. Kiev was the kingdom's center.
In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded the territory and destroyed Kievan Rus'. For the next 600 years, Ukraine was ruled by a variety of powers. These included the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia.
Because Ukraine was not an independent entity during the outbreak of World War 1, many Ukrainians ended up fighting each other. The eastern part of modern-day Ukraine fought for the Imperial Russian Army while the western side fought for the Austro-Hungarian Army.
In 1921, the Russian Red Army conquered much of Ukraine and established Soviet Rule. Ukraine suffered a famine from 1932-1933 where 4 to 5 million Ukrainians died due to starvation. During World War 2, Ukraine was overrun by Axis armies until the Soviets regained control in 1944.
In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor malfunctioned and exploded leading to toxic radiation leaking into the environment. Around 350,000 people needed to be evacuated from the area. Chernobyl is still a ghost town today, with the level of radiation in the area remaining high.
Ukraine officially gained independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.
The flag of Ukraine is blue and yellow. This represents a clear blue sky above and a field of golden wheat below.
Ukraine is 233,062 square miles of land. The most popular jobs in the country are farmers, salespeople, cashiers, and pharmacists. One of the most popular landmarks in Ukraine is the Holy Dormition Kyiv Caves Lavra, a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery.
The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, but approximately 20 languages are spoken in the country. Russian is the second most popular with 30% of the population speaking it as their first language. Other languages spoken in Ukraine include Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, and Hungarian. Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the most common religion in the country with an estimated 72% of the population following these religious beliefs.
What You Should Know if You Plan to Visit Ukraine
IT IS CURRENTLY NOT ADVISED TO TRAVEL TO UKRAINE DUE TO THE ONGOING MILITARY COMBAT.
Cooking the Most Popular Meal in Ukraine
Ingredients:
2 pound chuck roast
4 beets
5 small-medium potatoes
1 yellow onion
1 small cabbage (or 1/2 a large cabbage)
4 large carrots
5 garlic cloves
7 quarts beef stock (this is a great recipe)
3 oz tomato paste
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream (optional for topping)
Steps:
Step 1:
Warm beef stock in a pot. This is an amazing beef stock recipe!
Step 2:
Prep ingredients. Cut chuck roast into bite-sized chunks. Peel beets and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. I recommend using gloves when handling beets. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes. Remove skin of onion and cut into small chunks. Peel carrots, cut off ends, and coin. Mince garlic cloves. Slice cabbage thin.
Step 3:
In a separate pot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, chuck roast, salt, and pepper. This is the pot you will use to make the borscht. Cook on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Stir often.
Step 4:
Add warmed beef stock to pot with chuck roast pieces. Once you add the liquid, there will be a film on the top. Do your best to skim this off and discard. It is best if you let it cool in a separate bowl before discarding. Be sure to use a trivet if setting the bowl on your counter. You are now done with the original beef stock pot.
Step 5:
Add beets to pot with beef stock and chuck roast pieces. Stir and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat.
Step 6:
While that is cooking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and carrots to a pan. Cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Stir occasionally. Add onions to the pan with carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Stir often. Add garlic to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Stir often. Add tomato paste to pan and cook for 5 minutes. Do your best to combine tomato paste into carrot and onion mixture. Once combined, turn off heat and let mixture in pan.
Step 7:
Add potatoes, carrot mixture, and white vinegar to borscht pot. Stir, loosely cover with lid and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Borscht is done when potatoes are tender and cabbage is soft.
Step 8:
Salt to taste. Serve and top with sour cream!
Which country should I do next?
Follow @thatcountrycook on Instagram to see a video of me making this recipe!
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