Poltava-style borsch with galushky

Cover the chicken or duck with 2.5–3 L of cold water, add the bay leaf; bring to a boil, skim off the foam and simmer over low heat until tender, 60–80 minutes. Remove the meat, let it cool slightly and cut into pieces; strain the broth if desired.

While the broth is cooking, cut the beets into thin strips and braise in oil with 100 ml of broth for 15 minutes; add the tomato paste, sugar and vinegar, then braise for another 15 minutes until tender.

Finely chop the onion and carrot and sauté in oil until golden, 5–7 minutes.

Add the diced potatoes to the boiling broth and cook for 10 minutes, then add the shredded cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes.

Add the braised beets and the onion-carrot sauté, and simmer everything together for 10 minutes.

For the galushky, scald the buckwheat flour with 50 ml of hot water, stir until smooth, let cool, beat in the egg and add a pinch of salt — the batter should be thick, like sour cream. Drop it into the borsch by teaspoonfuls and cook for 5–7 minutes, until the galushky float to the surface.

Return the cut-up meat to the pot, add the crushed garlic, chopped herbs, salt and black pepper to taste. Remove from heat, cover with a lid and let it steep for 15 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream.