Directionally Correct

Directionally Correct is corporate-speak for something that's totally NOT right, but headed in the right direction. -- Huh.

суббота, октября 29, 2005

Kind of like "she", but with more ooomph in the "sh".

Lifted this recipe off the web. -- I'll include my modifications below.

Oblomov Borsch
I invented this recipe in a fit of nostalgia over Moscow and named it after Oblomov, a famously lazy character in Russian literature, because I wanted this recipe to be very easy. Once again, I know borsch is often served cold but this is a hot recipe, like how I used to have it in Russia.
1 tbsp. oil
1 small sweet onion
6 cups or so chicken or vegetable broth (I prefer Swanson's)
4-5 potatoes
4 beets
1/2 head green cabbage
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 bunch fresh dill
regular or light sour cream
Chop onion well and simmer in oil in large soup pot. While that's doing its thing, peel potatoes and chop into bite-size pieces. By the time you're done with that, it's time to add the broth; I usually toss potatoes in at the same time. Cover and increase heat to bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, chop ends off beets and scub well. I usually peel the beets, and since the skin is thick this means cutting it off with a knife. (There's probably a better way to do this.) After you've peeled the beets, chop them into bite-sized pieces and toss 'em in. Soup is probably boiling by now; reduce heat and uncover.
Simmer about 15-20 minutes.
Chop cabbage well and set aside. Chop dill well.
Add cabbage and vinegar to soup. Add about half that dill you chopped. Cook an additional ten minutes or so, until the cabbage is soft.
To serve soup. pour in pretty bowl. Top with a small scoop of sour cream and a sprinkling of more fresh dill.
Tip: There is a delicious Russian soup called shi you can make which is basically borsch without the beets.


So, what I did was leave out the beets, add carrots (2 - cut in slices), and halve the recipe. I still used two cans of broth, and even added about a cup of water. (Its very dense per this recipe, so I guess it just depends on how "soupy" you want your soup.)

I didn't have fresh dill, so I used about 2-3 teaspoons dried dill in the soup while it was cooking. The dill is strong stuff. The whole creation took about an hour and a half
DON'T leave off the sour cream when you serve. (You can modify to about a teaspoon per individual bowl.) That's the best part.

Enjoy.