On Christmas Eve, Polish families sit down to Wigilia, a meatless supper of many courses, and the soup on most tables is barszcz: a clear, jewel red broth of beets, sharpened with beet sour and deepened with dried forest mushrooms. Floating in it are uszka, whose name means little ears, tiny dumplings folded around a filling of mushroom and onion. Polish cookbooks have recorded barszcz for centuries, and every household guards its own balance of sweet and sour as closely as its seating plan.

Unlike the thick, vegetable laden borscht of other kitchens, Polish red barszcz is strained until it is perfectly clear, and at a party it is often poured into cups and sipped like a hot drink. The souring traditionally comes from zakwas, beets left to ferment in water for several days; many cooks buy it ready made in bottles, and a squeeze of lemon with a little vinegar does a convincing job at short notice.

Barszcz is not only for Christmas. With uszka, or a croquette on the side, it is a year round favorite, and its vivid color and clean, warming flavor make it a fine thing to drink from a mug on a chilly race weekend.

The mushroom broth

Ingredients

• 1 oz (30 g) dried porcini or other dried wild mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) boiling water

Method

1. Put the dried mushrooms in the small bowl, pour over the boiling water and leave for 30 minutes.
2. Tip the mushrooms and their water into a small saucepan and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Lift the mushrooms out and set them aside for the dumpling filling. Pour the liquid through the sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, leaving the last spoonful, which holds the grit, in the pan.

The barszcz

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) red beets
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 parsley root or parsnip
• 1 small piece celery root (celeriac)
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 10 cups (2.4 liters) cold water
• 4 whole allspice berries
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 cup (240 ml) mushroom broth
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) beet sour (zakwas)
• 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons fine salt
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) each fresh lemon juice and red wine vinegar

Method

1. Cut 1 lb 10 oz (750 g) of the beets into thin slices and keep the remaining beet whole for later. Put the sliced beets, carrots, parsley root, celery root and onion in the large pot with the cold water, allspice, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so it barely bubbles and simmer with the lid half on for 1 hour.
2. Set the sieve over a large bowl and pour the soup through it. Press the vegetables gently with the back of a spoon, then discard them. Pour the clear broth back into the rinsed pot.
3. Add the mushroom broth, crushed garlic and marjoram. Grate the reserved raw beet on the fine side of the box grater straight into the pot; it refreshes the color. Heat gently for 10 minutes without boiling, then strain once more through the sieve lined with cheesecloth.
4. Over low heat, stir in the beet sour, or the lemon juice and vinegar. Add sugar and salt a little at a time, tasting as you go, until it is clearly sour, gently sweet and well seasoned. Keep it hot, but never let it boil.

The uszka filling

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sunflower oil
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 oz (115 g) fresh cremini mushrooms
• the soaked mushrooms from the mushroom broth
• 2 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 6 minutes until soft and golden. Add the fresh and soaked mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes until all their liquid has gone.
2. Stir in the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and take the pan off the heat. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool completely.

The uszka

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sunflower oil
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot water

Method

1. Put the flour and salt in the mixing bowl, add the oil and pour in the hot water while stirring with a spoon. When it is cool enough to touch, knead it on a floured surface for 5 minutes. Wrap in the towel and rest for 30 minutes.
2. Cut the dough in half and keep the other half covered. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface as thin as you can, about 1/16 inch (1.5 mm), so you can almost see the work surface through it. Cut out circles with the cutter, or cut 2 inch (5 cm) squares with a knife.
3. Put a scant 1/2 teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Fold in half into a half moon and pinch the edges firmly together, pressing out any air.
4. Hold a half moon with the curved edge facing away from you, bring the two corners together around your fingertip and pinch them firmly, so it looks like a tiny ear or a little hat. Set them on a floured tray, not touching. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
5. Bring the wide saucepan of salted water to a boil. Drop in about 20 uszka at a time, stir gently so they do not stick, and once they float to the top cook them for 2 minutes more. Lift them out with the slotted spoon.

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