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Poltina Cuisine? What the heck is this? This fusion cuisine is made of up of the delish kitchen creations my polish hubby Sylwek and I, experiment with, and create. A little bit polish flavor, a bit of latin flavor and viola, Poltina Cuisine!
Red Borscht
Just looking at the color, you can see this soup is both seductive and stunning. It’s also nourishing and unique. The traditional Polish recipe takes a few days to make because it calls for a rye meal sour. Since I have to have a gluten-free version, this is what we created. I like mine chunky, but you can always puree to get a smooth silky version. This recipe yields eight servings.
Ingredients for red borscht
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 medium beets, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 green apple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 cups water or stock, divided
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 lemon, juice squeezed out
• salt and pepper to season (or salt-free seasoning)
• sour cream to garnish (optional)
• fresh dill to garnish
Method
Place all chopped vegetables in a large stockpot. Pour in 1 cup of water or stock, cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Process half of the soft vegetables in food processor or blender and puree until smooth. You can either puree all of the veggies to have a smooth borscht or just half to get a chunky result. Return pureed portion to stockpot. Add 2 cups stock or water, bay leaves, and lemon juice. Stir to blend. Cook on low simmer for 30 minutes. Divide soup into bowls. Season with salt (optional) and pepper. Garnish with sour cream and fresh dill. If you want to amp it up to Poltina status, add some fresh salsa, spicy or sweet chili sauce!
The soup next to the borscht is what Polish people consider “White Borscht” I will post this recipe at a later time.
