Welcome to Cold Borsch Summer
Sweat season is approaching us again, and unfortunately, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon . Turning on the stove can be a factor, but let’s face it, you can eat that much salad before you need anything more substantial.
This is where cold borscht (or chlodnik) appears. First of all, let’s take a moment to realize the beauty of what is happening here – just look at this color! But here it is not about style, but about the content: the cold borscht is filled to such an extent that I regularly say out loud: “Wow, I am full ” out loud after wiping the bowl. It’s also very easy to do. If you can take about 15 minutes to cook, peel and dice the beets, you are in business. When you have a serving of cold borscht in the fridge, it’s just a handful of side dishes away from ice cold, deeply refreshing food that will keep you satiated for hours.
But above all, cold borscht is delicious. It may be nothing more than the beets and the water in which they are cooked, but with a generous seasoning and side dishes, a humble bowl of watery beets is transformed into a moshpit with different textures and flavors. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s all good: sweet, juicy beets, crunchy cucumbers, hot onions, herbal dill, and enough salt and acid to make your mouth pucker a little, but that won’t happen because the sour cream rolls off. everything worked out. It is completely flawless. Here’s how to do it.
How to cook cold borscht (khlodnik)
For soup:
- 1-2 pounds of red beets, about the same size
- 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons sugar, more to taste
- 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice, plus more to taste
Serve:
- Diced cucumbers
- Chopped onion
- Chopped fresh dill
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sour cream, crème fraîche, Greek yogurt, or vegan equivalent (I used homemade cashew cream)
- Hard-boiled eggs (optional)
Rinse the beets well under running water. Transfer them to a bowl, add cold water so that it barely covers, and cook until the tip of the knife slides easily into the center of the beets. Cooking times will depend on the size of the beets and your cooking method, but here are some general guidelines:
- Stove: 20-30 minutes for smaller beets; 40-50 for more
- Instant Pot: 3-5 minutes at high pressure with manual release for smaller beets; 8-10 for more
- Microwave: 5-8 minutes on high power for smaller beets; 10-15 minutes for more
When the beets are cooked, transfer them to a plate or bowl and let cool completely. Reserve cooking liquid. Peel the cooled beets with your fingers, then grate or dice as you like. (I like the 1/4 “cubes.) Place the beets in a large bowl and add enough cooking liquid to cover them.
Now for the fun part: Season the beetroot mixture heavily with the salt, sugar, and acid of your choice. (Beets can absorb almost all three, so don’t be shy.) When it starts to taste like pickled beetroot brine, you’re done. Place the soup base in the refrigerator overnight to cool completely.
Before serving, ladle the soup into bowls and top with a handful of cucumbers, onions, and dill, a spoonful of fermented dairy (or non-dairy products) and sprinkle liberally with fresh milk black pepper. A hard-boiled egg cut in half is a delicious (and gorgeous) finishing touch, but it doesn’t have to. This magical dish of vegetables and flavored water is truly satisfying in itself. In an earlier version of this story, the word was written as borscht. We changed it to “borscht” not because the first is wrong or because of that guy in the comments, but because he Google better.