Below are multiple different versions claiming to be that of the restaurant, and it's likely they all could have passed through the kitchen. The recipe has changed over time with shifts in ownership and chefs over the past five decades. The current description reads: Traditional Tea Room Red Borscht - Pickled red beets, seasonal vegetables and dill in a short rib broth served with a braised beef pirozhok or hot boiled potato and sour cream. None of the following seem to quite match that. One newspaper article from the 80s notes the borscht was made with kvass (made from fermented black bread), another notes the recipe from another era used 12 lbs of bones, 12 lbs of beets, and 15 lbs of onions. So who knows which of these recipes you may have tasted, if any!
THE RUSSIAN TEA ROOM'S BORSCHT, CHEF LE RASLE
Source: The Russian Tea Room, Food Network's Food Fantasy' originally published by AP in 2000
Makes 4 to 6 servings
FOR THE MEAT BOUILLON:
5 ounces short rib
5 ounces pork butt
5 ounces duck legs
1/2 bunch parsley
5 to 6 whole juniper berries
20 whole cloves
1 diced onion
1 diced carrot
1 garlic, chopped
1 leek, chopped
4 whole peppercorns
2 laurel or bay leaves
Salt
FOR THE BEET BROTH:
5 ounces beets, washed
1 teaspoon pickling spice
5 ounces white vinegar (10 tablespoons)
5 ounces sugar (3/4 cup)
1/4-ounce thyme (2 teaspoons)
2 laurel or bay leaves
FOR THE VEGETABLES:
4 strips finely cut bacon
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, cut julienne
1 carrot, cut julienne
1 cup chopped green cabbage
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon dill
GARNISHES:
Shredded short rib, pork butt and duck legs, plus sour cream and dill
FOR THE MEAT BROTH:
Place all ingredients for the meat broth in a large pot with sufficient water to cover them. Add a pinch of salt and cook on low heat for 4 hours. Skim off fat from the top and discard. Remove approximately 1 cup of meat to use later as garnish for top of dish.
FOR THE BEET BROTH:
Place beets in enough water to cover them and slowly simmer for 40 minutes. Do not boil. Add remaining beet broth ingredients. Simmer on lowest heat for 3 to 4 hours. Peel beets. Strain the broth from the beets and keep them separately.
FOR THE VEGETABLES:
Fry the bacon in a large pot in 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil until crispy. Discard bacon; only the fat is needed. To the bacon fat, add 2 tablespoons of butter and the onion, carrot, cabbage and garlic. Cook on medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft. Add tarragon and dill. Add equal parts of meat bouillon and beet broth. Add cooked beets. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Garnish with shredded meat, sour cream and dill.
THE RUSSIAN TEA ROOM'S HOT BORSCHT
Source: Russian Tea Room Cookbook, authored by a former owner
Makes 6 servings
6 cups beef stock
1 cup tomato sauce or tomato pulp
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
3/4 to 1 cup thinly sliced celery
3/4 to 1 cup shredded carrots
3/4 to 1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups julienne strips of raw beets
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (optional)
1/2 cup minced fresh dill weed (or 4 teaspoons dried dill)
Sour cream (for serving)
Pour broth into a large soup kettle. Add tomato sauce, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onions. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Skim soup. Simmer, covered for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender but still keep their shape. Skim as needed.
Stir in sugar and add the beets. Simmer, covered for 10 more minutes or until beets are tender. Check the seasonings; if necessary, add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in vinegar if you are using it.
Turn soup into a tureen or six individual soup bowls and sprinkle with the dill. Serve hot, with sour cream on the side.
RUSSIAN TEA ROOM'S HOT BORSCHT
Also credited to: The Russian Tea Room Cookbook
Makes 6 servings
1/2 cup sliced onion
2 tablespoons bacon fat
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
4 cups beef consomme
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 cups julienned beets, with cooking liquid
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, divided use (or red balsamic vinegar)
Water, as needed
4 tablespoons potato starch
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup sour cream
In a large stockpot, saute the onion in the bacon fat until translucent. Add the carrots and cook until tender. Fold in the cabbage and cook until wilted. Pour the consomme over the vegetables and add the tomato puree. Lower the heat and skim off any fat that rises to the surface.
Put the julienned beets and 1 tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them. Cook until the beets are tender.
Add the cooked beets, with an equal part of their cooking liquid, to the consomme. Add the remaining 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar and bring the soup to a simmer. Add the potato starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of beet juice and cook gently for an additional 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
Ladle into a tureen or soup bowls and garnish with the dill. Serve hot with the sour cream.
RUSSIAN TEA ROOM'S BORSCHT, CHEF MARC TAXIERA
Source: featured in an amNY article)
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 quarts beef stock
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, plus more to taste
6 cups shredded green cabbage
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1 1/2 pounds red beets with green tops removed, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sugar, to taste (optional)
GARNISHES:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
Place the bacon in a Dutch oven or stockpot and cook over medium-high heat until the fat begins to render, about three minutes. Add the garlic, onion and carrot and cook until soft, about four minutes.
Drain any excess fat and add the beef stock. Bring to a boil. Add the red-wine vinegar, cabbage and potato and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Taste and season with additional red-wine vinegar if needed. Add the beets and cook until they are soft, approximately five minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the borscht seems acidic, add a little sugar to round out the flavor.
Ladle the borscht into serving bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of fresh dill.
RUSSIAN TEA ROOM BORSCHT
Source:
Chef Petrous Moldovan, chef de cuisine from the Russian Tea Room
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 pound onions, peeled and chopped
1/4 pound carrots, chopped
1/4 pound celery, chopped
1/4 cup diced potatoes
3 1/2 cups beef stock
1 pound roasted beets, peeled 1/2 julienned 1/2 diced, reserving liquid
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
GARNISHES:
Light sour cream (optional)
Dill sprigs
In a large heavy saucepan over moderate heat, add the oil, cabbage, onions, carrots, celery and cook until translucent.
Stir in the broth, the reserved beet liquid, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes then add the beets and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped dill.
Ladle into bowls, spoon a dollop of light sour cream onto each serving and garnish with the dill sprigs.
RUSSIAN TEA ROOM RED BORSCHT
Source: Russian Tea Room, NYC
Makes 8 servings
1 quart beef consomme*
2 cups beet kvass**
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup cabbage shredded
3/4 cup celery, thinly sliced
3/4 cup carrots, shredded
3/4 cup onions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cup fresh beets julienned in strips
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh dill
6 tablespoons sour cream
In a pan, mix consomme, sauce, cabbage, celery, carrots, onions. Bring it all to a boil for 10 minutes. Skim.
Add sugar and beets, simmer for 10 minutes. Add vinegar, salt and pepper.
Serve garnished with fresh cut dill and a dollop of sour cream in the middle of each bowl.
*Beef consomme and beef stock are not the same thing. Use consomme which is clear, not beef stock which is cloudy and heavier in taste.
**If you do not have time to make kvass, or cannot find it at an international grocery store or health food store, substitute a mix of 2/3 wheat beer and 1/3 white wine to the portion you need. Recipes for kvass are easy to find online.
THE SECRET OF THE RUSSIAN TEA ROOM'S FAMED BORSCHT
By PIA NORDLINGER, NY Post, 2000
The borsht at the new Russian Tea Room is not your grandmother's borscht. When I tasted this Slavic classic at the opulent Russian Tea Room, which re-opened with great fanfare last October, I was impressed by the complexity of the flavor - it was meaty, sweet, a bit sour and thick with vegetables. So when chef Fabrice Canelle showed me the list of ingredients, I was hardly surprised by its length. Those who want to make the borscht at home might at first assume it requires buying out your grocery store's entire produce department - and relegating yourself to a long afternoon in the kitchen. But this recipe is actually quite simple. When working with beets, it is necessary to wash them, but do not scrub or peel off the skin. The beets will cook inside the skins, and when they are finished cooking, the outer layers should easily slip off. Place the washed beets in cold water and add pickling spices, vinegar, sugar, bay leaf and thyme. Of all the ingredients in this recipe, the pickling spices are probably the most important. They add a strong punch to the beets but are more important to the broth, which will be the soup's base. While the beets are cooking in the water and spices, heat the meat broth in another pot. Canelle makes his own broth from beef short ribs, pork and duck confit. But let's be realistic: Very few of us have the time to cook a broth from scratch. (Citarella makes a fine meat broth.) Next, chop the onion, carrot, garlic, celery root, cabbage, leek and mushrooms. Then fry the bacon in a stock pot and drain off the fat. Melt the butter in the same pot as the bacon and add the chopped vegetables. Because there are so many vegetables, you'll want to stir them often to make sure that they all heat evenly. Cook them until soft, then add the tomatoes and their juices, as well as the tarragon and dill. Next, add equal parts of both the beet and meat broth to the stock pot. Bring the entire mix to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the cooked beets. The addition of the beets will give the borscht its famously deep color. Allow the finished product to simmer for 5 more minutes.
Because there are so many ingredients, the beets and cabbage are just part of a cast, rather than the stars of the show, making it a borscht even a beet-hater can love.
RUSSIAN TEA ROOM HOT BORSCHT
FOR THE BEETS:
5 cups of meat broth
3 whole medium-sized beets, washed
1 tablespoon of pickling spices
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of thyme
FOR THE VEGETABLES:
1 ounce of smoked bacon, cut in fine strips
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 Spanish onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 of a small celery root, peeled and julienned
1 small head of white cabbage, sliced
1 leek, white and light green parts only, minced
1/2 pound of shiitake mushrooms, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 cup of canned tomatoes, crushed, with juices
1 tablespoon of chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon of chopped dill
GARNISHES:
Sour cream
Chopped dill
In a saucepan, cover the beets with cold water. Add the herbs, spices, vinegar and sugar. Cook until the beets are tender (about 45 minutes). Strain and reserve the beet broth. Peel and julienne the beets.
In a separate pan, bring the broth to a simmer and add salt and pepper as necessary.
Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a heavy stock pot. Pour off the fat. Add the butter, onion, carrot, garlic, mushrooms, celery root, cabbage and leeks. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat until soft. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Add half the dill and tarragon.
Pour in equal parts of the meat broth and beet stock (about 4 cups of each). Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the cooked beets, along with the remaining tarragon and dill, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Swirl a little sour cream into each serving and sprinkle with dill.
