Green Borscht | Ukrainian Sorrel and Egg Soup

Place the shank in cold water and bring to a boil. Skim off all the foam. Add the bay leaf and whole black peppercorns, then simmer over low heat with the lid slightly ajar for 90 minutes, until the meat separates from the bone.

Lower the eggs into boiling water and hard-boil for 10 minutes. Transfer them to cold water, peel, halve, and set aside until serving.

Remove the shank and separate the meat from the bone, then cut it into small pieces. Strain the broth; you should have 2 liters. If needed, add hot water to make up the difference.

Sauté the finely chopped onion and grated carrot in butter over medium heat for 6–7 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the carrot is soft. Do not brown them; the soup should have a light, gently sweet flavor.

Bring the broth to a boil. Add the potatoes cut into 1.5 cm cubes and the salt, then cook for 12 minutes. Add the sautéed onion and carrot and boil for 3 more minutes; a knife should slide into the potatoes without resistance.

Remove the thick stems from the sorrel and cut the leaves into 1 cm strips. Add the chopped meat, sorrel, scallions, and dill to the soup and boil for only 3 minutes. Turn off the heat when the leaves change from bright green to olive green; the color change signals that they are cooked.

Place half a hard-boiled egg in each bowl, ladle in the soup, and add a spoonful of sour cream in the center. Stirring the cream into the bowl turns the soup a cloudy pale green.