Mariupolskyi Borshch (маріупольський борщ, goby borshch)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A big modern stockpot, at least 5 litres
• •A wide heavy frying pan for the gobies and zasmazhka
• •A box grater
• •A fish spatula or broad slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the fish

   Pat the gobies dry, salt them lightly, and leave them while you prepare the vegetables. If the fish are very small, keep them whole after cleaning; if they are larger, cut them across into pieces. They should smell clean and seaside, not sharp. Dust them with flour just before frying, not earlier, or the coating turns gluey.

2. 2

   Cook the beets

   Put the whole beets, tails on, in a small pot, cover with water, and simmer until a knife slides in without a fight. Slip off the skins when cool enough to handle and grate them coarse. The tails keep the color inside the beet, where it belongs, and the smell should turn round and sweet, almost like warm bread.

3. 3

   Fry the gobies

   Warm three tablespoons of sunflower oil in a wide pan and fry the floured gobies in batches until the edges are golden and the fish sounds dry and lively against the pan. Don't crowd them. You want color, not a sad boil in oil. Lift the fish onto a plate and keep every browned bit in the pan.

4. 4

   Start the pot

   Bring the water or light fish stock to a gentle simmer with the bay leaves and peppercorns. Add the potatoes first, then the cabbage once the potatoes have begun to soften at the edges. Keep the surface moving quietly. A hard boil bullies fish and muddies the broth.

5. 5

   Build the zasmazhka

   In the fish pan, add the remaining sunflower oil if the pan looks dry, then soften the onion over a low flame until translucent. Add the grated carrot and cook until the carrot collapses, the oil turns orange, and the smell changes from raw root to sweetness. Stir in the tomato paste and let it darken a shade.

   This is the why that decides the dish: the zasmazhka goes in near the end so its slow sweetness sits brightly on top of the broth. Put it in early and it flattens into the stock.
6. 6

   Sour the broth

   Stir the grated beets into the soup, then add the fermented tomato mors, beet zakwas, or tomato brine. Taste before salting again because the ferment brings its own salt. The broth should be beet-sweet first, then tomato-sour, with room left for the fish.

7. 7

   Fold in fish

   Add the zasmazhka to the pot, then slide in the fried gobies and any juices from their plate. Simmer very gently until the fish has given itself to the broth but has not fallen to threads. You will hear it settle: the boil goes softer, the smell turns coastal, and the beet stops shouting.

8. 8

   Finish and rest

   Turn off the heat, add the smashed garlic and most of the dill, then cover the pot and let it rest. Taste again after the rest, not before, because fish, beet, and souring need a little quiet together. Serve with smetana, more dill, and lemon only if your ferment was shy. The spoon should stand up straight.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh Azov gobies are the old soul of the dish. Outside Ukraine, use small clean-tasting fish such as smelt, small perch, or sardines. It will be a bit more modern, and the pot will still feed people properly.
• •If using very bony fish, serve with a little warning at the table or strain the broth after a short fish simmer and add fried fillets back at the end. Home cooking should be generous, not a trap.
• •Fermented tomato mors is my first choice for souring. Beet zakwas works beautifully too. Vinegar will do if the cupboard is bare, but it gives a sharper note with less depth.
• •Don't skip frying the fish. That browned edge is where the seaside sweetness comes from, and boiled raw fish will give you a flatter, woollier broth.
• •This borshch improves overnight, but reheat it gently. Fish doesn't like being shouted at twice.

Advance Preparation

• •The beets can be cooked and grated a day ahead; keep them covered in the fridge with any juices.
• •The borshch is best after a few hours of rest and very good the next day. Chill it quickly, then reheat gently so the fish stays tender.
• •If you make your own beet zakwas or fermented tomato mors, start it several days ahead. A four to five percent brine is the usual southern shelf wisdom: weigh the salt against the water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 540g)