Discussion
Barszcz is commonly made in Poland (traditionally on Christmas eve) and in Lithuania. It is also common in Russia and the Ukraine when it is usually called borsch. There are very many ways of making this (nearly always) beetroot-based soup. It can be hot or cold, clear or creamy and with or without any of the following:- (meat or mushrooms or other vegetables or the beetroot shredded/grated back into the soup). It is usually served strained and some like it a bit "thin" though others like it quite heavily seasoned and spicy. In Poland it is often seved with halved or quartered hard-boiled eggs floating in the soup or with kashka (small, coarse, buckwheat patties) or poured over some uszka, which are little dumplings made with mushrooms. A cold Lithuanian variation known as chlodnik may include a puree of pickled cucumber and be served with crayfish.
My own take on barszcz is obviously coloured by my own experiences and any suggested barszcz recipe is probably going to be similar to suggesting one for a paella in Spain, where the ingredients vary greatly from person to person and place to place.
To my mind the "essence" of barszcz is a bright red and slightly sweet-sour beetroot soup. If overheated it goes a bit orange or insipid looking but some raw beetroot can be shredded back into the soup to regain the redness and then the soup strained before serving. Traditionally the sourness is made by fermenting clean, sliced, raw beetroots in a jar under a slice of bread for 3 to 4 days. A barszcz liquor like this is known as kwas.
One can either start off with some fermented kwas liquor or make a "quick" liquor by simmering together a couple of large, peeled, raw beetroots with a medium onion (I like two cloves stuck in the onion), a carrot or two, a couple of sticks of celery (or preferably a whole celeriac if you can get your hands on one) along with seasoning. I think a bunch of dill and parsley gives a unique flavour that always reminds me of Poland. Garlic is optional depending on taste. Peppercorns certainly help with flavour and spiciness - a teaspoon to a tablespoon in a pint and a half of liquor would be average for me. A bit of sourness may be added by using a little lemon juice (or malt vinegar) and if the beetroots were not sweet enough, a little sugar can be added. These ingredinents are simmered for about an hour and left to cool before straining off the liquor.
Most commonly, in my experience, the kwas is next added to a stock. Approximaely a pint to a pint but there is no rigidity here either. A good beef stock is a very good basis. In a hurry one can substitute a beef stock for a tin or two of beef consomm� or, in a pinch, even just use a couple of good beef stock cubes. A meatless or a white-meat stock barszcz can also be made and is traditionally given to invalids similar to the way pure chicken broth is often used.
Other variations include adding the juice of pickled cucumbers or some red wine for a differnt sort of piquancy. Fish or fish stock is sometimes used by some in Poland for the Christmas eve barshch. A creamy soup can be made by adding 1/2oz of flour and a half pint of cream. The soup can be clarified by adding the white of an egg before straining the still hot soup. If having the soup chilled, a swirl of cream into the cold bright red liquor adds to both the look and the experience. Sour cream can be used if preferred. Some chopped dill or chopped spring onions can also be sprinkled on as a garnish.
I'm sure there are very many other approaches and ideas but once you have got started you can experiment with your own variations of this queen of soups.
For a quick start:-
Phase 1
Add the ingredients to a quart of water and simmer for an hour. Leave to cool and then strain.
Phase 2
Add a pint of the kwas or strained mixture to a pint of beef broth/stock/consomme or add two beef stock cubes to a quart of the strained mixture and reheat until cubes melted. If the soup is a bit pale then shred half a raw beetroot into the soup while rewarming (don't boil) and then strain. Season with salt by taste.
Serve hot or chilled with whatever garnish is desired; a little cream and a little chopped dill or parsley or spring onions are suggested or serve hot with a hard-boiled egg cut into quarters.