“Every borsch dreams of becoming a pirozhok,” says a neon sign on the wall of Borsch Cafe in St. Petersburg. It seems that its founder, Anatoly Bordiyan, who himself is nicknamed ‘Borsch’ because he’s a chef and food blogger – has followed the same principle. And so, he decided to turn this favorite Russian soup into street food that people can take with them.
“The idea of creating borsch in a pirozhok came to me because of my desire to reinvent the concept of homemade food, which we have known and loved since childhood,” said Anatoly Bordiyan in a conversation with RB. “Now, borsch is available in a to-go format – you can take it with you to work, to school or university, or even in a car. And that’s very convenient.”
On the Borsch Cafe menu (two locations have already opened in St. Petersburg and one in Moscow), not only has borsch transformed from a classic soup into a crusty pirozhok that you can sink your teeth into, but shchi and solyanka also followed suit. The bowl and a spoon are in the past, and now the solids are served inside of a pirozhok and the stock – provided separately in a glass – is called ‘nectar’ here.
If you really want to try this innovative borsch-pirozhki dish but don’t have the opportunity to visit Borsch Cafe in St. Petersburg, then you can prepare something similar by yourself. Here are the short instructions.
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