Chef Lesia
Adzhyka po-Ukrainsky (аджика, tomato-pepper relish)
The tomatoes go from garden-red to brick-red while the peppers slump and the garlic waits. By the end, the spoon leaves a path and the whole south fits in one jar.
Culinary Explorer
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Zasmazhka (засмажка, borshch sofrito base)
Created by
Orange fat is flavor you can see: onion and carrot cooked low and slow until sweet, glossy, and ready to wake up a whole pot of borshch.
Sauces & Condiments
Ukrainian
Comfort Food
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
10 min
Active Time
20 min cook•30 min total
YieldEnough for one big 4 to 5 litre pot of borshch
The pan tells you before the spoon does. First the onion goes glassy, then the carrot loosens its color into the fat, and suddenly there it is: orange beads bright enough to float on a red bowl of borshch like little lamps.
Zasmazhka is the slow-sweated flavour base, the Ukrainian cousin of a sofrito, but don't make it behave like a quick fry. You're not browning. You're coaxing sweetness out of cheap vegetables until the smell changes from raw onion to something rounder, almost buttery, even if you've used sunflower oil. Aunt Nadia's letter only said, "until it sounds right," which is comedy until you hear the pan quiet down for yourself.
The why is simple. Add the zasmazhka near the end of borshch so the sweetness sits brightly on top of the broth instead of flattening into the stock. That's the whole argument. Small pan, big consequence.
Zasmazhka belongs to the home-kitchen logic of Ukrainian soups and stews: a separate pan of onion, carrot, and fat used to carry sweetness, color, and aroma into the finished pot. In the southern steppe, where sunflower oil is Ukraine in a bottle of oil, meat-broth fat and green unrefined oil both appear, depending on season, budget, and what the pot has given you. Soviet canteens often reduced this step to a rushed fry, but village cooks kept treating it as the moment when borshch decides what it will be.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
yellow onions
Quantity
2 large
finely diced
carrots
Quantity
2 large
coarsely grated
skimmed broth fat, pork fat, chicken fat, or unrefined sunflower oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
unrefined sunflower oil (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
if the pan looks dry
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fermented tomato mors or grated fermented tomato (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| yellow onionsfinely diced | 2 large |
| carrotscoarsely grated | 2 large |
| skimmed broth fat, pork fat, chicken fat, or unrefined sunflower oil | 3 tablespoons |
| unrefined sunflower oil (optional)if the pan looks dry | 1 tablespoon |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fermented tomato mors or grated fermented tomato (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •A wide heavy pan
- •A box grater
- •A wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Warm the fat
Set a wide pan over low heat and add the skimmed broth fat or sunflower oil. Let it loosen and shine, but don't let it smoke. This is a slow thing from the start.
- 2
Soften the onion
Add the diced onion with the salt and stir until every piece is slicked with fat. Cook gently until the onion turns translucent and the sharp raw smell softens. If it hisses angrily, lower the heat; you want a small steady murmur, not a fry-up.
- 3
Add the carrot
Stir in the grated carrot and spread it through the onion. Keep cooking low and slow until the carrot collapses into the onion, the pan smells sweet, and the fat turns orange. You're waiting for the smell to change, not for a timer to boss you around.
If the pan looks dry before the carrot softens, add the extra spoon of sunflower oil. Dry vegetables scorch before they sweeten. - 4
Lift with tomato
If you're using fermented tomato mors or grated fermented tomato, stir it in now and let it bubble briefly into the fat. It should smell bright and savoury, not sour like vinegar. This is optional, but in January, when fresh tomatoes are a joke, the jar is the tradition.
- 5
Finish the pot
Scrape the zasmazhka into borshch near the end of cooking, after the potatoes, cabbage, beets, and souring have done their work. Rinse the pan with a ladle of broth and pour that in too. Those orange beads are flavor you can see.
Add it at the end so its sweetness sits brightly on the broth. Add it early and it disappears into the stock.
Chef Tips
- •Use skimmed fat from the broth if you have it; it ties the pan back to the pot. If your borshch is lean or vegetarian, use unrefined sunflower oil and don't apologize.
- •Grate the carrot coarse, not fine. Fine carrot melts too quickly and can catch on the pan before it gives you that orange oil.
- •The onion can be a little uneven and the carrot can be cut by hand. The heat is the part that doesn't forgive you: keep it low enough that nothing browns.
- •Make a double batch and freeze half flat in a small bag. Future you will think past you was very clever.
Advance Preparation
- •Zasmazhka can be made 3 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
- •It freezes well for up to 3 months. Rewarm gently before adding it to borshch so the fat loosens again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 450g)
Calories
675 calories
Total Fat
54 g
Saturated Fat
15 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
37 g
Cholesterol
35 mg
Sodium
1400 mg
Total Carbohydrates
44 g
Dietary Fiber
10 g
Sugars
21 g
Protein
5 g
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