Borscht with Pork and Fresh Cabbage

Place the pork in cold water, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. The meat should be completely cooked — check by cutting a piece and ensuring there is no blood.

Remove the cooked meat from the broth, let it cool, and cut it into small pieces so that each serving has enough meat.

While the pork is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Peel the potatoes, wash them and cut them into small pieces, then place them in water so they don't darken.

Clean the cabbage by removing the outer leaves, rinse it, and cut it into long strips.

You will need these vegetables first, so prepare them in advance.

Bring the broth to a boil, add the chopped meat and potatoes, cook until the potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the remaining vegetables. Peel and wash the carrots, beets, and onion. Grate the carrots and beets separately on a coarse grater, and finely chop the onion.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet (you can do without it). Fry the onion, then add the carrot, then the beet. Fry the vegetables together.

Add red wine vinegar — it will preserve the bright color of the beets and give the borscht a rich, tangy flavor.

When the potatoes are cooked, put the cabbage in the pot. Continue frying the vegetables in the pan.

After 10 minutes, the cabbage will settle into the broth. Add the sautéed vegetables to the pot, stir well to distribute the beet color evenly.

Reduce the heat to minimum, add a bay leaf and black pepper to taste. Let the borscht simmer on low heat.

In 10 minutes, the borscht will be ready. Let it steep for 30 minutes so the flavors fully develop.

Pour into deep bowls and serve with sour cream, black bread, grated garlic, and salted lard.