This is the way I love to eat and cook. As the nights turn slightly chillier, I think of a hearty, robust and rustic soup that is a meal all in itself, and to eat it you need a knife, fork and spoon.
It also has the advantage of disguising the many vegetables that grand children are too quick to dismiss. I must say that it is hard to disguise the fabulous color of beetroot, but as I currently only have granddaughters, I can pretty quickly turn them on to it by advertising it to them as ‘bright pink food’.
This soup is made well in advance and just ticks away on the stove until you are ready to eat. Once made and on the stove, the numbers at the table can grow without panic, knowing that all who may roll up will be completely satisfied. It hits all the buttons for me - informally casual, hearty, and requiring only the addition of crusty bread and wine on the table.
Fearnley-Whittingstall suggests it is a good way of using up your old retired laying hens. We have had many chooks over the years and so far we have never killed one, as the wily foxes inevitably beat us to that – despite innumerable strategies ranging from full on attack to Fort Knox style defence. I am not sure what is the length of time for a chook’s laying career – for us with so many it is hard to tell which chooks lay and which do not. I think we have adopted the idea they should have a comfortable retirement, as they are so rewarding, giving you an egg a day, in exchange for some food scraps and a bit of grain. So instead of truncating the otherwise graceful retirement of our chooks, instead I will buy some organic chickens for our soup.
Ukrainian chicken borscht soup
100g pork fat (for preference) or other cooking oil
2 organic chickens
1 piece of salt pork, weighing about 250g, cut into 2cm cubes (optional)
2 large onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 whole tub of tomato puree
1 white cabbage, shredded
1kg potatoes cut into cubes
5 carrots, grated
5 beetroot, grated
1 level tbsp paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500ml-soured cream, to serve
Heat the fat or oil in a large heavy based frying pan and brown the chicken pieces in batches. Transfer the chicken to a large stockpot, along with salt pork. Turn the heat down under the frying pan and, using the same fat, sweat the onions and garlic until soft. Add them to the stockpot.
Mix the tomato puree with a little water and pour it over the meat and onions. Add all the other ingredients, including at least a dessertspoon each of salt and pepper. Pour in enough cold water just to cover the meat and vegetables. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer very gently for at least 1-½ hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is completely tender.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve in deep bowls with plenty of the soupy liquid, a big dollop of soured cream and hunks of crusty bread.
This recipe has been adapted from ‘The River Cottage Cookbook’ by Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall, Harper Collins, 2003.