When you hear
the word ‘soup’, not many people get excited. I always found it strange how
excited Maria got when she spoke about her Mom’s beetroot soup, especially when
she always said it’s her favourite meal of all time. Okay, it’s food, I
understood that, but it was soup…hardly a filling meal! When this lunch was
set, Maria was the first person on my list, and I may have told her what to
bring; only because I had to find out what it was she always got so excited about.
Acknowledgement:
Images were taken by Janine Shepard from Jinx Photography.
Maria
educated us that afternoon, sharing a dish from her Polish culture and
background. You’ll be surprised to know that the mushroom dumplings and
beetroot soup are traditionally served together; and that’s how we all ate it. When
I took my first mouthful, I instantly understood what Maria was always so
excited about. This dish lit up everyone’s face. Not only is it a colourful
dish, but it’s packed with vibrant flavours and every mouthful is such a treat.
Even those at the table who don’t normally eat beetroot found this dish a
pleasure.
I now
understand what the fuss was all about; and I seriously urge everyone to try
it. It’s easy to make and will become a new firm favourite of Mom’s – trust me!
Barszcz / Beetroot Soup
Ingredients:
4 – 5 Medium
beetroots, grated
3 Large
carrots, grated
¼ Large green
cabbage, shredded
1 Large
onion, chopped
3 Tbs oil
(olive oil or normal oil)
3 – 4 Bay
leaves
Salt and
pepper to taste
20ml White
vinegar
125ml Fresh
cream
Instruction:
1. Peel the
onion, carrots and beetroot.
2. Add the
oil to a large pot and heat on a medium heat.
3. When the
oil is hot, add the onion to the oil and sweat the onions until soft.
4. Add the
cabbage, beetroot and carrots to the pot.
5. Add the
salt, pepper and bay leaves.
6. Allow this
to simmer and soften, you can add a bit of water to prevent the bottom of the
pot from burning.
7. Once all
the vegetables are soft add water so that the vegetables are covered plus an
added 2 inches (approximate).
8. Bring to the
boil on a medium heat, stirring occasionally.
9. Add the
vinegar, you can add more or less according to your preferred taste.
10. Cook for
a further five minutes before adding the cream. The colour should be a slightly
lighter purplish – red.
11. Serve
with mushroom stuffed dumplings (Uszka).
Uszka / Mushroom stuffed dumplings
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 Punnet Button
mushrooms
1 Onion
2 Tbs Breadcrumbs
Butter
Salt and
pepper to taste
Pastry:
1 ½ Cups
flour
Pinch of salt
100 - 200ml Water
(room temperature)
2 – 3 Tbs Oil
Instructions:
For the
filling:
1. Peel and finely
chop the onion (use a food blender to make it very fine).
2. Place into
pan with melted butter and fry until translucent and golden brown.
3. Finely chop
the mushrooms (again use a food blender until very fine), and add to the pan
with onions and fry until the mixture has turned a dark brown colour.
4. Add salt
and pepper to taste, then add the breadcrumbs and mix in thoroughly.
Pastry:
1. Place the
flour and salt in a bowl and add some of the water.
2. Mix with
hands and add more water until a ball has formed. (You know you have mixed it
once the entire bowl is clear of any loose flour)
3. Add the
oil to the pastry and knead the oil in with your thumbs in a massaging motion.
This is to ensure that the pastry is pliable and not too hard.
4. Once the
pastry is pliable, roll it out thinly (but not too thin) and using a glass
(3-4cm in diameter) cut out circles in the pastry.
Cooking:
- Take each circle and stretch it out gently using your fingers, being careful not to break it and using a teaspoon, place one teaspoon of the mushroom filling into the centre of the circle.
- Fold the circle in half, ensuring the filling does not leak out and press lightly until you have a semi-circle
- Then taking the corners of the semi-circle, fold them carefully towards each other over the centre and press lightly so that they are joined and look like little parcels that you can place your finger through.
- In a pot, bring some water to the boil (add salt to the water).
- Once the water is boiling (not violently though) add a few of the Uszka to the water being careful to drop them in gently – one can also use a spoon to mix them once in the water GENTLY so as to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot and allow them to cook.
- Take them out once they start to float to the top.
- Drain them from excess water and serve with Barszcz (beetroot soup)
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