Chicken and beet borscht with horseradish yoghurt
Meat mains
Chicken and beet borscht with horseradish yoghurt
This dish is a staple in Eastern Europe. Vividly violet, packed with goodness and deeply restorative. The key to cooking everything perfectly is to add things in stages depending on their cooking time. The horseradish adds a sniff of heat and always pairs well with earthy beetroot. The yoghurt adds a cool relief and echoes the sour lactic notes that would traditionally be added in the form of sauerkraut or fermented beetroot.
Cook's notes
If you don't want to end up with bright pink hands wear gloves when handling the beetroot.
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 1 celery stalk
- plain oil for frying, e.g. sunflower
- 2 beetroots
- 1 potato
- ¼ red cabbage
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 chicken breasts
- ½ tsp allspice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 30g dill
- 2 tsp horseradish relish
- 2 tbsp yoghurt
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Peel and finely slice the onion. Wash and finely dice the celery stalk. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add the onion and celery. Cook gently for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the veg. Peel the beetroots and chop them into a small 1cm dice.
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Step 2
Add to the pan and cook gently for another 10 minutes. While the beetroot cooks, peel the potato and dice as you did the beetroot. Cut out quarter of the red cabbage. Cut away and discard the central core and shred the leaves very finely widthways. Peel and finely chop or crush 2 garlic cloves.
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Step 3
Remove and discard the skin from the chicken breasts. Slice the chicken into 1cm thin slices. Season with a little salt and keep to one side. Add the potato, cabbage, garlic, allspice, bay and sugar to the pan. Cook for a further 2 minutes. Tip in the stock, vinegar and 300ml of water.
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Step 4
Bring to a simmer, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until everything is just tender. While the borscht cooks, wash the dill, shake it dry and finely chop it. When the veg is cooked, add the chicken to the pan. Cook on a very low heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. While the borscht rests, mix the horseradish into the yoghurt.
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Step 5
Check the chicken. It should be lightly poached but cooked through. Taste the borscht and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper to your taste. Stir in half the chopped dill. Serve in deep bowls with a dollop of horseradish yoghurt and the remaining dill scattered on top.
