Borscht

When my manager came to visit us in February, he had a chat with our new Ukrainian colleague, Mr. Borscht, who is not part of our design team. Later on, my manager said that Mr. Borscht, who is in his early 60s, appears to be very proud of the fact that he has a "young Canadian wife". This is true. Mr. Borscht often mentions how much younger his wife is and how his new child is only half a year younger than his grandchild. And it isn't just Mr. Borscht who is playing Family 2.0. Mr. Poker, who's turning 60 this year, also has two "generations" of children.

When I first started to blog about the new Ukrainian colleague, I dubbed him Mr. Borscht. So what did he bring to work for lunch the other day? Borscht! And how does borscht relate to his young Canadian wife? Apparently, Mr. Borscht claims that he was able to "hook" his wife through his cooking of the "best borscht in the world". After she had one taste, he claims, their future nuptial was virtually guaranteed.

I guess the way to a woman's heart is borscht?!

In honour of Mr. Borscht's success with borscht, here's a Ukrainian borscht recipe. According to Mr. Borscht, be very liberal with the garlic. That's the secret.

Ingredients

* 1 (16 ounce) package pork sausage
* 3 medium beets, peeled and shredded
* 3 carrots, peeled and shredded
* 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded
* 1 (8 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste
* 1/2 cup sour cream, for topping
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Directions

1. Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until no longer pink. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Fill a large pot halfway with water(about 2 quarts), and bring to a boil. Add the sausage, and cover the pot. Return to a boil. Add the beets, and cook until they have lost their color. Add the carrots and potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the cabbage, and the can of diced tomatoes.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender. Stir in the tomato paste and water until well blended. Transfer to the pot. Add the raw garlic to the soup, cover and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Taste, and season with salt, pepper and sugar.
4. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with sour cream and fresh parsley.