veselka's borscht

i didn't really do anything terribly productive over the past few days, and yet i'm completely wiped out. i walked, a lot. jordan came to visit from boston. we walked around dumbo and had a delicious brunch at vinegar hill house (buttery slow-scrambled eggs with ramps, bitter greens and sourdough toast). we walked around carroll gardens and visited the morbid anatomy library. we walked around greenpoint and ate candied ginger ice cream at van leeuwen. i saw a friend's first feature length film debut at clearview cinemas in chelsea. another friend got into cooper union. i ate bad sushi at oyama and good sushi at momo. i went to il laboratorio del gelato, twice (ginger and basil the first time, cream cheese and tarragon the second) and sundaes and cones, also twice (black sesame the first time, lychee the second). we made eggs in a basket with lacy windows of oven-crisped aged cheddar and ate them atop piles of sautéed lemony beet greens. we walked all over the lower east side and i lusted after things i will never buy in creatures of comfort and assembly new york. joey and i saw wire play a somewhat confusing set at music hall of williamsburg. oh, and there was borscht.

it wasn't just any old borscht; it was veselka's recipe, adapted from their cookbook which you may have heard about if you've eaten there recently. they've placed conspicuous adverts on all the tables, announcing the book with a not-unthreatening admonition to "loosen your borscht belt." and they aren't kidding. i am no expert on ukrainian cooking, but i know a good thing when i eat it, and if ever a soup has merited a bloat-induced clothing adjustment, this is it.

veselka makes their soup with a double hit of sweet rootiness by first boiling a batch of sliced beets for two hours to yield a beet stock. the beets are strained out and new, raw beets are cooked and then grated into the soup for more taste and texture. potatoes, carrots, cabbage and beans are added for an earthbound heft, but what really sets this borscht apart, at least for me, is a generous hit of white vinegar. the recipe says it's for color retention; i beg to differ: i think that added splash of acidic twang is what really wakes up the soup so that all the deep, low flavors can really perk up and sparkle. a final swirl of sour cream adds a welcome silky richness, just because.

oh, and then j stuffed a banana with almond butter and blackberry jam and fried it in olive oil. we ate it doused with salt, pepper and raw honey. i like to think we walked it all off.
borscht

adapted from veselka's recipe

serves 8-10

• 3 lbs (10 to 12) small beets, scrubbed thoroughly but not peeled
• 9 tbsp white vinegar
• 8 cups vegetable stock or bouillon
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 large celery stalks, sliced (i omitted this)
• 1 small head of green cabbage (about 3⁄4 to 1 lb), shredded (about 4 cups)
• 2 medium idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1⁄2" dice (i left the skin on)
• one 15" can lima beans, drained and rinsed
• salt
• sour cream and/or chopped dill, for garnishing (optional) 

to make the “beet water,” roughly chop 2 lbs of the beets (select the smaller ones), preferably in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. place the chopped beets in a large stockpot. add 10 cups of water and 1 tbsp vinegar.

place the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. (if it seems like the liquid is evaporating too quickly, you may need to cover the pot partially with an off set lid.) the beets should be extremely soft and the liquid bright red.

strain the liquid, pressing the cooked beets against the side of the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. discard the pulp. set aside the beet water. you should have just about 4 cups.

meanwhile, place the remaining 1 lb of whole beets in a separate large stockpot. add water to cover and bring to a boil. reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beets are tender-firm, about 40 minutes.  when the beets are cooked, add 1 tbsp white vinegar and set them aside to cool.

when the whole cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them; the skins should slip off easily (i left the skins on). grate the peeled beets on the largest holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the grating blade.

to cook the vegetables, place the carrots, celery and bay leaf in a large stockpot and pour the vegetable stock over them. bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the carrots and celery are just tender, about 8 minutes. add the cabbage and potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes and carrots are easily pierced with a paring knife but keep their shape, 15 to 20 additional minutes. add the lima beans and cook for 5 additional minutes, just to meld the flavors. gradually add the remaining 7 tablespoons white vinegar, tasting between additions and stopping when the flavor is to your liking. remove the soup from the heat and set aside.

to compose the soup, in a large soup pot combine the “beet water” with the vegetables and broth. add the grated beets. stir to combine and bring to a simmer over low heat. season to taste with salt and serve immediately, garnished with sour cream or dill fronds if you like.