Zeleny Borshch (зелений борщ, sorrel spring soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A big modern stockpot
• •A wide pan for the zasmazhka
• •A sharp knife for the sorrel
• •A ladle and deep myska bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the broth

   Put the meat, cold water, bay leaf, and peppercorns into a big pot and bring it up slowly. Skim the grey foam as it rises, then keep the pot at the gentlest bubble, the quiet one that sounds alive without shouting. Cook until the broth smells rounded and the meat loosens from the bone.

   Salt lightly at the start. Sorrel brings sourness, smetana brings richness, and the final balance happens after the greens go in.
2. 2

   Prepare the eggs

   Boil the eggs separately until the yolks are just set, then cool, peel, and halve them. Keep them out of the pot for now. They belong in the bowl, where the yellow yolk stays clean and the white catches the broth around its edges.

3. 3

   Cook the potatoes

   Lift the meat from the broth and strain the broth if you want it clear. Pull the meat from the bones and return it to the pot. Add the potatoes and simmer until they surrender when pressed against the side with a spoon. Not falling apart, not hard in the middle. Soft enough to thicken the broth a little.

4. 4

   Make the zasmazhka

   Warm the sunflower oil in a wide pan and add the onion. Let it go translucent and sweet before the carrot joins it. You're not browning anything. Keep it low and patient until the carrot softens, the oil turns gold-orange, and the kitchen smells warmer than it did before.

   Add this zasmazhka near the end. Its slow sweetness should sit brightly on the broth; cooked from the start, it disappears into the stock.
5. 5

   Add the greens

   Stir the zasmazhka into the pot, then add the sorrel and spinach or nettles if using. The sorrel will collapse almost at once and darken the broth to a soft green-gold. Taste as soon as the smell changes: it should be tart, clean, and awake. If the soup still tastes shy, add another handful of sorrel rather than reaching for vinegar.

6. 6

   Finish the pot

   Turn off the heat and stir in most of the dill and spring onions. Taste for salt and black pepper. Let the pot sit a few minutes so the greens settle into the broth, but don't punish it with more boiling. Ladle into deep bowls with a halved egg, a spoon of cold smetana, and the last dill scattered over.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh sorrel is the soul of this pot. If you can't find it, use spinach for body and add a little jarred sorrel or a spoon of sorrel puree if your Ukrainian shop has it. Lemon is a bit more modern and will work, but it doesn't taste like the garden.
• •Nettles are wonderful in early spring, but wear gloves and use only young tops. Once they hit the hot broth, they soften and behave.
• •Make the broth a day ahead if life is busy. The final green part should happen close to serving, because sorrel's color and bite are brightest when it barely cooks.
• •This is good warm and also good just barely warm the next day, with more smetana than you meant to add. Enough for eight guests or one hungry Ukrainian.

Advance Preparation

• •The broth can be made 1 day ahead, chilled, and skimmed if you want a cleaner surface.
• •The eggs can be boiled 2 days ahead and kept in the fridge.
• •Slice the sorrel shortly before cooking so it keeps its sharp smell and green color.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 620g)