Month: October 2019

Ukrainian Instant Pot Beet Borscht, just like Grandma used to make

Ukrainian Beet Borscht

Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 small onion (shredded)
  • 6 small red beets (peeled and shredded)
  • 4 medium carrots (peeled and shredded)
  • 4 fingerling potatoes (roughly chopped)
  • 4 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
  • 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsps dried dill
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Peel and shred the veggies, either in a food processor, or using a grater.
  • Add the olive oil to the instant pot on Sauté setting. Add the onions, garlic and carrots, sautéing until the carrots start to soften. Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring well.
  • Set pot on Soup/Broth setting and cook on pressure for 10 minutes.
  • Serve with fresh dill and sour cream.
Keyword Beets, Instant Pot, Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian

And now for the details…

My family on both sides have always had a focus around food. Since I was a little girl, I remember all getting together for big family meals, cracking out some snack or recently baked good when someone would come to visit, and most importantly to me, often cooking or baking together. I must have been so annoying to my mom, grandmas and aunties, because from a young age “I help too” was a common phrase coming out of my mouth, quickly followed by the screech of the kitchen chair legs against the floor as I insistently dragged it over to the counter to stand higher and “help”.

One of the people I would insist regularly on “helping” was my Grandma on my dad’s side. Since my Grandma was Ukrainian, this resulted in me learning to make foods like perogies, periski, holupchi, or borscht. And as the weather turns cooler and root vegetables are readily available now that it is officially fall, my craving for borscht peaks at an all-time high. Even though this classifies as a soup, I feel as though borscht should be more of a stew. Hearty, rich, and hitting the spot on a cool fall day. The addition of the potatoes gives a nice thick broth, and the deep, earthiness and sweetness of the beets gets elevated with the herbaceousness of the dill and the zing of the tomato paste. Admittedly, my Grandma’s borscht was a bit more on the “soup” side of things, but the main thing I did pick up from her, and I hold tight to, was on her being quite adamant that borscht should not contain cabbage. Cooked cabbage… is not my cup of tea. Let’s be frank people, it smells like farts. And so, zero cabbage in this recipe. Is it un-Ukrainian? Possibly. But since I learned this from my Grandma, I’m going to claim a certain level of authenticity!

For this recipe, we are making it in the Instant Pot. You can always make this exact same recipe in a regular pot, it will just need to cook on the stove on medium-low heat for much longer (about 5 times as long).

Let’s start by prepping our veggies. I used a food processor to shred all my veggies. You can always use a hand grater instead. Peel the carrots, onion, and beets first. Then shred the carrots and onion. Remove them from the processor into the pot, and do the beets next. We are doing these all separately so we can sauté the other veggies without the beets, as a sort of mirepoix, without the celery. Mince your garlic and add it to the pot as well. Add a splash of olive oil, set the pot to “Sauté” (medium high on a pot on the stove), and cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, until the carrots start to soften and the garlic and onions are fragrant.

While those veggies are cooking, peel and diced your potatoes. Once they are ready, add the potatoes and beets to the pot, and the broth (chicken for Grandma’s, vegetable if you are going vegetarian with your borscht) and stir well, mixing everything all together.

Add the last few ingredients to the pot, give it one last stir to mix everything in, especially the tomato paste, and the cover your pot and set to “Soup/Broth” setting, with pressure on. If no Instant Pot, turn the temperature down to medium-low temperature. We are going to cook here for 10 minutes in the Instant Pot, or 50-60 minutes on the stove, stirring occasionally if on the stove.

Once the cooking time is done, give the borscht one last stir, then serve in bowls. You can serve just like this, or if you’d like to go the way I had it at Grandma’s, add a dollop of sour cream and stir it in before your first big, soul-warming bite.

Happy eating.

Rainbow Vegetable Bowl with Peanut Satay Sauce

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Rainbow Veggie Bowl with Satay Sauce

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 red cabbage (sliced thin)
  • 2 large carrots (peeled and sliced)
  • 3 kale leaves (destalked and sliced into strips)
  • 1 shallot (sliced)
  • 1 cup brussel sprouts (sliced thin)
  • 1/2 red pepper (sliced)
  • 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger (grated)
  • 2 garlic cloves (peeled and sliced)
  • 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 Tbsps peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsps sweet chilli sauce
  • 6 Tbsps coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp sambal olek
  • 2 eggs (soft boiled)

Instructions
 

  • Prepare your veggies.
  • Mix together the peanut butter, chilli sauce, coconut milk and soy sauce, and set aside.
  • Add the shallots, garlic  and carrots to a large pan with the oil and sauté on medium high heat until the shallows start to brown. Add the ginger and stir, then add the cabbage and brussel sprouts, stirring while cooking until the sprout and cabbage have just started to soften. Stir in the kale and red pepper, and cook until the kale has turned bright green.
  • Separate the veggies into two bowls. Top with the satay sauce and eggs, and serve.
Keyword Cabbage, Cruciferous, Kale, Vegetables, Vegetarian

And now for the details…

Guilty admission: this recipe was created when I was trying to clean out our refrigerator. I had all these random bits of veg left over from other recipes that I had made and I needed to find something to do with them. Et voilà: a rainbow smorgasbord of sautéed veggies with a satay dressing and soft boiled eggs to top them off.

This recipe comes together fairly quickly, and so is a great option for a weekday meal. And since the main protein source is egg, it’s also appropriate for the non meat eaters out there! Have a vegan in the crowd? Swap out the eggs for pan fried tofu, and you are in business! The recipe also scales up an down quite easily, depending on the number in your crowd.

Start everything off my prepping your veggies and sauce. Once the cooking starts, this recipe comes together very quickly, so you want everything ready to go so you can just toss each element into the pan and plate immediately.

Slicing of your sprouts and cabbage could be done by hand or in a food processor, whichever is your preference. I like slicing by hand since it allows me more control and I prefer the veggies to be sliced thinner than the food processor will allow.

For the sauce, we simply whisk together the peanut butter, chilli sauce, coconut milk and soy sauce until they are fully mixed. I like using crunchy peanut butter for this so you get little bites of peanut in the dish after mixing the sauce into the veggies. I also added some sambal oelek for added spice, but if you prefer a milder flavour, you can omit it.

Next it’s on to cooking. Start with your soft boiled eggs. Bring a pot of water to a boil, carefully place the eggs inside (use a spoon or skimmer to help you do this to prevent dropping the eggs too fast and cracking the shells), then reduce the temperature to medium-low and cook the eggs for 6-7 minutes, depending on your preference of yolk smooshiness. Have an ice bath ready. While the eggs are cooking, we can start cooking the rest of the meal, but the moment the eggs are done, they should be removed from the hot water and placed in the ice bath.

Moving on to the veggies. Heat a large pan at medium-high heat with the oil, and add the ginger and garlic. Cook until just fragrant, then add your shallots and carrots. Stir, cooking until the shallots start to brown, then add the Brussel sprouts and cabbage. Stir, cooking just until the cabbage starts to soften, and add the kale and red pepper. One last stir and cook until the kale turns bright green and just starts to wilt, then remove from the heat and place into your bowls for serving.

Pour the satay sauce over the veggies, peel the eggs (yes, I definitely massacred them in this photo…), cut them in half and place on top, and you are ready to for dinner!

Happy eating.