Olga Budilovsky of Tamarac has been a cook her entire life. She started as a child in Kiev, Ukraine, but for the past 22 years she’s been in the United States. Today, her friends and close family members enjoy her dishes from their homeland. One spoonful of her sweet borscht or tart spinach soup called schav and her skill is obvious.
Although I knew there is a large Russian population in North Miami, I’ve come to learn that there is a community of Russians right in my back yard. Tamarac is a town full of ethnic diversity. It seems like everyone’s parents live there. And because very few people eat out in most middle European countries, many immigrants bring their home-style dishes handed down from generation to generation. We are fortunate enough to have these dishes appear on our South Florida dinner tables. There are few written recipes for these family treasures.
Schav, a green spinach- or sorrel-based soup, is one of these authentic Russian recipes. “There is no meal without borscht or schav in Russia,” Budilovsky explains. There are many versions of these soups, some of them vegetarian and some prepared with meat. I asked her to share a recipe for vegetarian soup that could be served chilled during the hot summer months.
Both borscht and schav can be served hot or chilled and are usually served as a first course. Russian food is always made from scratch because there are very few prepared foods available in Russian stores.
Budilovsky explains that home cooking in Russia is quite cumbersome. Typical Russian kitchens are small and not as efficiently designed as ours. She would be in her kitchen past 11 p.m. preparing dinner for the next day. Russians don’t use fancy ingredients, Budilovsky tells, just what’s around — potatoes, onions and simple seasonings.
Simple can also be rewarding and even memorable. Budilovsky’s recipe for schav can be made up to three days before serving. Schav comes from the Russian word schavel, which means sour greens. Here we call this sour-tasting leafy green sorrel or sour grass. Olga’s recipe calls for spinach, but if you can find fresh sorrel, give it a whirl and use sorrel for some or all of the spinach. Sorrel is normally available in spring and summer. It looks like a long, pointed spinach leaf. It’s sour because it contains oxalic acid.
SOUP
OLGA’S SCHAV
1 1/2 quarts cold water
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup peeled and sliced carrot coins
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, or 4 cups fresh chopped spinach or sorrel
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
Juice of 1 lemon plus more to taste
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped, for garnish
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped, for garnish
8 scallions, chopped, for garnish
3 tablespoons low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt, for garnish
Place water, onions, carrots and potatoes in a 5 1/2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 12 to 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and continue to simmer 5 minutes. Add dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Soup should be tart, and more lemon juice can be added to taste. Cool soup to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled. Before serving, sprinkle some eggs, cucumbers and scallions on top of each portion. Add a dollop of sour cream. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Per serving: 125 calories, 14 percent calories from fat, 6 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams total fiber, 2 grams total fat, 62 milligrams cholesterol, 78 milligrams sodium.
If you have questions about a vegetarian ingredient or recipes you would like Steve Petusevsky to make meatless for you, please send them to Vegetarian Today, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33301-2293.
