In my childhood home, a bowl of Green Borshch and a piece of Egg, Scallion and Dill Tart were the harbingers of spring – a sign that the meat and potato dishes of winter months were put aside for lighter meals.
Green Borshch or sorrel soup (Ukrainian: зелений борщ or щавелевий суп) is a variation of traditional red beet borshch, a vegetable soup usually made with sorrel instead of beets. Ukrainians claim this borshch version as theirs, but neighboring countries – Poland and Russia — have similar versions. In fact, this soup came to America at the turn of the 20th century with Ukrainian and Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Poland and part of Russia and also is known as schav.
Historically, green borshch was prepared in the spring. Tart sorrel is the preferred green ingredient, but Ukrainian cooks also use whatever early greens are available, such as beet leaves, nettles, lettuce, wild quinoa, garlic, parsley and dill.
When my family immigrated to America after World War II, sorrel was unavailable at the local A&P grocery in Newville, Pennsylvania and none of the local farmers grew it. The only leafy greens Mama and other family cooks could find was spinach. So, they made green borshch with spinach and used lemon juice to replicate sorrel’s tangy taste. The spinach version became a family favorite. Later when sorrel seeds were planted in home gardens and green borshch could be made with sorrel, the spinach green borshch version was preferred.
As my friend and Ukrainian borshch guru, Chef Yevhen Klopotenko says Borshch has no canonical recipe. But surely every family in Ukraine has one that they treat their friends and relatives with. If the preparation of red borshch has no time limits – a set of necessary vegetables can be found all year round, then you want to taste green borshch in the spring, when the first ground juicy greens appear on the shelves of supermarkets and bazaars – sorrel, spinach, green onions.
Mama made green borshch with homemade chicken or beef stock. For spring, however, I prefer using vegetable stock which permits the herbal taste of the sorrel or spinach and herbs to shine through. In a pinch, I have purchased flavorful stocks and enhanced these stocks with fresh herbs and spices with good results. This recipe for green borshch is made for purchased stock, although there are many recipes online for homemade stock versions, including one by Chef Klopotenko.*
Borshch ingredients
Green borshch is a simple, quick soup of a few ingredients which awakens taste buds after winter’s hibernation. Whether made with sorrel or spinach and lemon juice, this soup cooks in 45 minutes (a few minutes longer if making stock) and produces a refreshing soup with a lightly tart but rich taste. It is delectable hot or cold, chunky or puréed smooth. My sister Maria purées green borshch and serves it in cups with a dash of dill for sipping before Easter breakfast. While delicious straight from the pot, green borshch becomes ethereal when topped with a spoon of sour cream, half of a hardboiled egg and a sprinkling of dill.
My aunt Titka Hanna, the family tart baker, often baked Egg, Scallion and Dill Tart in spring, right after Easter, when there was a surplus of hardboiled eggs in the refrigerator. I usually ignored it as a child, thinking tarts should be sweet, not savory. But my appreciation of savory tarts and pies grew over the years. Some Ukrainian home cooks make this tart with a baking soda-leavened batter,** but Titka Hanna, a Francophile, always made a pastry crust.
This tart’s French-style dough with a crumbly, biscuit-like texture, while salty, tastes like a buttery shortbread cookie. The filling masterfully combines the rich and savory taste of firm but tender hard-boiled eggs with the mildness of scallions and dill’s fresh, bright, sweet flavor. I think pairing Green Borshch with the Egg, Scallion and Dill Tart is a sublime meal, a perfect spring lunch or dinner. But a puréed Green Borshch is a great opener for a light fish dinner and the Egg, Scallion and Dill Tart makes a great lunch with a mixed spring vegetable salad.
Green Borshch
For soup:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
2 onions, diced in ¼ inch ( 0.6 cm) pieces
1 carrot, diced in ¼ inch ( 0.6 cm) pieces
2¼ cups (532 ml) homemade or purchased beef or chicken or vegetable stock
2 quarts (2 liters) water
2-3 bay leaves
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
10 ounces (284 g) sorrel, chopped or substituted with an equal amount of baby spinach, reserving and mincing 1 ounce (28 g) for garnish
2-3 lemons, juice to taste, if using spinach, or omit if using sorrel
For garnish:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
½ cup reserved sorrel or spinach, finely chopped
4 eggs, hardboiled and halved
¼ cup sour cream
In a large frying pan, add carrots and onions and sauté until translucent.
Bring stock and water to a boil in a large pot. Add sautéed vegetables, bay leaves, salt, pepper and potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat until vegetables are al dente. Add sorrel or spinach with lemon juice to taste. Reduce heat and simmer for half an hour.
Chopped spinach
Remove from heat. Stir in minced sorrel or spinach. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the tartness with a few drops of lemon juice if spinach is used.
Ladle hot into bowls. Serve and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, egg halves and dill.
Serves 8.
Egg, Scallion and Dill Tart
For the pastry:
16 ounces (250 g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
6 ounces (185 g) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch (1.27 cm) slices
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water, divided
For the filling:
6-8 hardboiled large eggs
1 large bunch (8 ounces – 220 g) scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 small bunch (3 ounces – 80 g) dil, fronds only minced
½ cup sour cream
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
Preparing the dough: Add flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor ad pulse a few times to mix. In a separate bowl, combine egg, lemon juice, and two tablespoons of ice water and stir to blend.. Sprinkle liquid mixture on flour and pulse until dough holds together when squeezed, adding additional water a teaspoon at a time only if needed. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead several times to form a smooth ball.
( If preparing dough by hand: Stir flour and salt together. Cut butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, combine egg, lemon juice, and two tablespoons of the ice water and stir to blend. Sprinkle this liquid over the flour mixture and mix just until the pastry holds together, adding more water a tablespoon at a time if needed. Knead the dough in the bowl for 2 or 3 strokes — just until the dough makes a smooth ball. )
Cover and chill for 30 minutes until firm or overnight.
Tart filling ingredients
Chopped tart filling vegetables
Preparing the filling: Mix filling ingredients and set aside.
Assembling and baking tart: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Butter an 8-inch x 8-inch ( 23 cm x 23 cm) pan and line the bottom with parchment that overhangs the pan by 2 inches on two sides.
For ease of handling, roll out ⅔ of the dough between two sheets of parchment to 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pan. Remove the top parchment. Ease dough side down into the pan, removing the top parchment. Press dough in the bottom of the pan along the corners and up the sides of the pan about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Top with filling.
Tart with filling
Tart ready to bake
Roll out the remaining pastry and fit it onto the top of the tart. Moisten and flute the edges to seal. Dock top with a fork for vents. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes. Cut into 2-inch (5.08 cm) squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 16 servings.
* Chef Klopotenko’s green borshch recipe with vegetable broth: https://thenewsdept.com/trending/73661.html
https://klopotenko.com/en/green-borscht/ — with chicken broth
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8GJiMC0DUA
Photo credits: Slava Johnson
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