Holodnik - Cold Beet Soup
A delicious vegetarian Cold Beet Soup, made from beets, cucumbers, kefir and lots of dill - called Holodnik (холодник). Full of Probiotics. Tasty like Okroshka or Svekolnik, the perfect chilled soup on a hot summer's day (extra special with smoked chicken or ham)
Ingredients
Holodnik
- 3 large Beets about 1kg or 2 lbs
- 1 Long English Cucumber
- 10 Hard Boiled Eggs
- 32 oz (1 litre) Kefir
- 4 cups beet stock saved from boiled beets
- 3 green onions
- 2 teaspoons salt
- juice of a lemon
Garnish
- 1 cup sour cream or smetana
- dill bunch chopped
- diced smoked chicken optional
Instructions
- Prepare Beets - peel the beets and boil them until they are cooked and soft (easily pierced with a fork). This will take around 40 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. Grate the beets and set aside.
- Save Beet Stock - set aside 4 cups of the beet liquid for your soup.
- Hard Boil Eggs - cover eggs with water in saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover with lid and remove from heat. Set timer for 11 minutes. Remove eggs and place in ice bath to cool before using.
- Prepare Vegetables and Eggs - Finely slice the cucumbers into thin matchsticks, slice green onions and dice 6 of the hard boiled eggs. Slice the remaining 4 hard boiled eggs in half lengthwise and set aside.
- Mix Soup Base - in a bowl, combine kefir, lemon juice and beet stock. Season with salt and adjust to taste.
- Add Vegetables - mix in grated beets, cucumber, chopped eggs, green onions
- Chill - refrigerate in the fridge until cold (at least 2 hours).
- Serve - pour into bowls and garnish with ½ sliced egg with a generous dollop of sour cream and dill. Enjoy.