Vegetable Ragu

My mom loves to cook. This is her favorite vegetable dish during summer when she has vegetables from her garden. This is my favorite Ukrainian vegetable dish too. I love that I do not have to wait until summer comes, because here I could buy vegetables all year around. 

You will need:
3 cups shredded cabbage
2 medium zucchini
2 large potatoes
2 medium tomatoes
1 large carrot
1 medium onion
2 Tbsp corn or olive oil
salt, pepper, sugar to taste

1. Dice zucchini, potatoes and onion. Shred carrot. Slice tomatoes. 

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet that has a cover. Cook tomatoes on one side for 2-3 minutes, then cook them on the other side for 2-3 minutes.

3. Put vegetables in layers. Start with diced onion and shredded carrot. Season each layer with a bit of salt .

4. Add diced potatoes.

 5. Add shredded cabbage.

6. Add diced zucchini.

7. Let it simmer on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. 

8. Mix vegetables. And continue to mix every 3 minutes. Depending on how juicy your vegetable are, you can leave the skillet open (if you have a lot vegetable juice), or cover if you do not have a lot of juice. Ideally at the end you will have cooked vegetables and almost no vegetable juice. Season with pepper, add more salt according to your taste. I also like to put 1/2 Tbsp of sugar, but this is optional.

9. Dish is ready when potatoes are done.

Borsch

My mom has cooked borsch often but I did not know how to cook it. I got married and left Ukraine right away. I knew I had to master how to cook this dish because my husband loved borsch. Usually he would leave home early in the morning and come back to have lunch at home. This gave me plenty of time to practice, and if my first attempt would fail I still had time to try it again. My first attempt of making borsch was a success! Now everyone in my family loves borsch.  

You will need: 

1 beet

2 carrots

4 potatoes

1 onion

2-3 cups shredded cabbage

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

2 Tbsp lemon juice or 1/2 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp corn oil

salt, pepper to taste

parsley, dill, bay leaf, garlic (optional)

Borsch can be a vegetable soup or based on either chicken or other meat bouillon. 

1. In a large pot prepare bouillon or pour water to 2/3 of a your pot, add salt. Bring to boil.

2. While water in your pot is heating, peal and grate carrots and beet. Peal and dice potatoes. Shred cabbage. Peal skin from the onion.

 

3. Saute grated carrots and beet with corn oil until it will be cooked according to your taste. I like it more on crunchy side, so I cook for about 10 minutes. You can add a little water while cooking vegetables.

4. Add 2/3 of tomato sauce and saute for 2-3 more minutes. Add sugar and lemon juice.

5. Add potatoes and onion to your pot with boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes.

6. Add shredded cabbage. Cook for 5-7 minutes for more crunchy taste or for a few minutes more if you like your cabbage well cooked.

7. After cabbage is done according to your taste,  add sauteed vegetables and rest of the tomato sauce. Add more salt if needed.

8. Season with pepper, parsley and dill. Bring to boil. Do not let it boil for a long time because borsch will lose its color. Serve hot with sour cream and bread.