RECIPES
BasiaRed barszcz with uszka (little dumplings, literally "little ears") is the most important dish of our Christmas Eve dinner at home. We cook it, or rather, when we spend the holidays all together, my mom cooks it shortly before serving, as the last dish. When the barszcz is ready, we sit down at the Christmas Eve table and feast.
barszcz with uszka
Directions:
Wash the carrot, celery root and parsley root and cut them into large pieces. Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Peel the beets and cut them into 8 pieces.
To make the barszcz truly meatless for the fast, you can prepare it without meat. In that case, we simply skip it.
Place the meat together with the vegetables (except the beets) in a pot and cover with about 1 liter of cold water. Add the bay leaves and allspice, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until the meat and vegetables are slightly tender. Add the beets to the resulting broth and immediately add a little vinegar or lemon juice (about a tablespoon, more if you like). This way the barszcz will keep its pretty beet color. Keep cooking until the beets are tender, then take out all the vegetables along with the meat. Add the garlic and season with salt, pepper and marjoram. You can add even more lemon juice or vinegar. Cook for a little while longer and serve, for example, with uszka.
Tips:
Optionally, you can add a pinch of sugar "for flavor."
I recommend adding the vinegar a little at a time so you don't "overdo it."
Enjoy!
