Cacik: Cold Turkish Cucumber and Soured Milk Soup
Cacik: the cold soup that saves you from summer heat. Tried and tested! Nothing is more depressing in spring than the summer weather forecast. They promise a dry, hot, nasty summer. I do love warm weather, but nothing above +30°C.
But in the heat, I think nothing supports the body better than soured milk. Not store-bought kefir from a carton, but real soured milk. The trouble is that milk these days no longer sours. It sits for ages and just doesn't. Lately, though, various ready-made versions of soured milk have started to appear, apparently some kind of whey products. Very good stuff.
Cold and icy soups on a fermented milk base are a very important part of cuisines all over the world. Armenia has matsnabrdosh, Bulgaria has tarator, Iran has mast-o-khiar, Spain has gazpacho, and Turkey has cacik.
In Turkish hotels I have seen fellow guests pile their plates high with meat, salads and vegetables while completely ignoring the soups. And that is a mistake, because the soups in Turkey are excellent. I especially like lentil soup, ezogelin. Making it well is considered a mark of skill in Turkish cooking, and every bride proves before her wedding that she can do it. Or cacik, which is not really a soup but more of a refreshment, though not quite a drink either.
More with cucumbers
Okroshka with fresh cucumbers
Cold Borscht
Traditional Rassolnik: Beef Broth Soup with Pearl Barley and Pickles
Cabbage, Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Shopska SaladIngredients
2 servings
- Soured milk 0.5 l
- Fresh cucumbers 3
- Dill, parsley, mint 1-2 sprigs each
- Garlic 2 cloves
- Salt, black pepper, olive oil to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- If you have good homemade milk that sours properly and on time, I envy you. You are lucky. I am not, so I bought soured milk at the shop. It is called “matsoni”, but it is quite ordinary soured milk, just a little more sour in taste. In Bulgaria I always bought myself a jar of “kiselo mlyako” for breakfast. It is both healthy and delicious.
- It is still a little early for cucumbers, but they are already quite safe, at least the local ones, not imported.
- Herbs such as mint, dill and parsley have long been available all year round. I recommend soaking them in ice water for a couple of hours first. Then they will not be limp and will look their best.
- The cucumbers must be peeled. The skin has no place in cacik. Chop the peeled cucumbers fairly finely with a knife.
- Chop the herb leaves (leaves only) finely with a knife. The finer, the better.
- Chop the garlic very finely with a knife and mix it with the herbs.
- Mix the chopped cucumber with the chopped herbs and garlic, then add salt and pepper.
- Stir, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and leave for 10-15 mins.
- While the cucumbers are standing, blend the soured milk, water, salt and black pepper to taste in a blender. Blend until smooth and chill the mixture in the fridge.
- Divide the cucumbers and herbs between bowls, filling them about halfway. Pour in the soured milk mixture and stir. Add more salt and pepper if you like. Garnish nicely with a couple of mint leaves. If it is very hot, add a few ice cubes to the dish.
- By the way, cacik is wonderfully refreshing both cold and very cold.
- I read somewhere that soured milk is sometimes blended with ice.
Pull chopper for garlic and onionAliExpress
Oil sprayerAliExpress
Kitchen scale up to 5 kgAliExpress
Vegetable chopper with handleAliExpress
Measuring cups and spoonsAliExpress
Peeler with wooden handleAliExpress| Yield: | 2 servings |
| Calories: | 45 kcal per 100 g |
| Prep: | 15 mins |
| Cook: | 45 mins |
| Total: | 60 mins |
| Cuisine: | Middle Eastern |
| Rating: |