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See also Andy's recipes for Lenten borshch and rassol'nik

Contributed by Andrei Radchenko of Miami, who grew up and spent most of his young adult life in Kiev, this recipe for traditional borshch is marvelous...depending on whether you can locate true "borshch beets," which have whitish stripes inside when you cut them in half. Alas, no way to tell before you get them home, so you might want to talk to your grocer about it...or shop at a farmer's market and ask for a look. Andy says he's generally lucky 4 out of 5 times, which isn't bad. Also please note the spelling of the soup: Americans commonly see it spelled "borscht," but that's like pronouncing "whiskey" "viskey." Start early and plan to be home pretty much all day, while you keep feeding the pot. Serve this excellent soup hot to 8 for a first course--or make a meal of it with sourdough buns (pampooshkee) sauced with a garlic-oil and side dishes.

• 1/2 cup dried red beans, soaked overnight in water
• 2-3 pounds of pork ribs
• 3 quarts water
• 1 medium onion, peeled
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 large or 2 medium beets, peeled and julienned
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• green pepper and turnips--diced (optional)
• tomatoes, diced (optional)
• 2 potatoes, cut into thick slices
• herbs and spices, to include: salt, bay leaf, black pepper, piece of dried red chile pepper, and thyme
• 1/2 small cabbage, sliced thinly
• 3 ounces salted pork fat or bacon
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons chopped dill
• 1/2 cup yoghurt
• 1/3-1/2 cup catsup or tomato paste

Garnish:sour cream

Drain the soaked beans and reserve. Place the pork ribs in a large pot with 3 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil slowly and remove scum. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, reduce to a simmer, partially cover the pot, and cook for about 2 hours. When done, cut the meat off the bones, reserve, and discard the bones and vegetables.

To the strained broth, add the beets and beans, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the beets are white and the beans tender.

In the vegetable oil, sweat the onion, celery, carrots, and optional green pepper and turnips over low heat until the onions are yellow. Scrape into the pot, simmer for a few minutes, then scrape in the optional tomatoes, potatoes, and spices, and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the cabbage and simmer until it's the consistency you like--crunchy or soft.

In the meantime, chop the garlic, dill, and pork fat (or bacon) in the food processor, whisking in the yoghurt at the end.

When the cabbage is the way you like it, remove the red pepper, stir in the reserved pork, the catsup (or tomato paste), and the garlic-dill-fat mixture. Return the pot to a simmer, then cover the pot, turn the heat off, and let the flavors mingle for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top each with a dollop of sour cream on top.