Kholodnik – Cold Beet Borscht with Soured Milk Recipe

Step-by-step recipe

1. For the beet broth to turn out rich and cold, it's worth making it the day before – it doesn't take long. In early summer every market sells young beets – small, evenly colored and very dark. Pick small roots with a smooth surface: the fewer dents and little roots, the less chance of soil getting into the broth. Wash the beets very thoroughly, cut off the tops and the root end with a knife, and scrape off the small rootlets. They need to be perfectly clean.
   
2. Put the beets in a pot and cover with 1.5 l of cold water. Set the pot over the heat, bring to a boil and simmer the beets covered over medium-low heat for 30-40 mins. As soon as a thin knife goes through the roots with a little effort, they're done. Take the beets out of the broth. By the way, the broth will be more brownish than deep purple. Strain the broth through a cloth.
   
3. You can cool the roots a little under cold running water so they don't burn your hands. Peel the beets, grate them on a coarse grater and transfer to a container. Pour the beet broth over the beets and let cool to room temperature. Then put in the fridge. While it chills, the broth steeps with the beets and takes on the color a good kholodnik is known for. By the way, adding vinegar to the broth is often recommended – if you're using soured milk or ayran, better skip it, the acidity will be just right.
   
4. That's the main prep done. Boil the eggs in advance – as usual, 8-10 mins from when the water boils, cool in cold water and peel. Pour the broth into a jug, leaving the grated beets in a separate bowl. When making kholodnik, people often get that unique pink hue by adding sour cream – more than necessary, and it also bumps up the calories. I prefer to mix the beet broth with natural soured milk thinned with water or, much more conveniently, with ayran – just not the carbonated kind. So there are two options: mix 1 cup each of soured milk and water, or add 0.5 l of ayran to the beet broth. Salt the mixture to taste.
   
5. In separate small bowls, finely chop the dill sprigs and green onions. Dice the cucumbers a little smaller than for Olivier salad. You don't have to peel the cucumbers – up to you. Cut the eggs in half, one egg per serving. You could chop the eggs into the kholodnik, but they'll get stained by the beet broth. Spoon the grated beets that the broth steeped on into the bowls. A heaping tablespoon per bowl is enough. By the way, many people throw the beets away, and that's a shame.
   
6. Add the chopped cucumber and green onion. Pour the ice-cold beet broth with soured milk from the jug into the bowl over the vegetables. There's no need to stir the vegetables into the broth. Don't fill to the brim. Place half a boiled egg in the kholodnik. Sprinkle with dill and add sour cream – not the fattiest kind. Amounts to taste.
   
7. Usually, when it's hot, a cold dish isn't eaten with bread. This dish isn't meant to fill you up, it's meant to keep you from melting. I remember kholodnik being served with baked potatoes in Minsk – it's very tasty. That said, potatoes are quite often added straight into the soup. But then, if you ask me, the dish gets overloaded with vegetables.
   
8. For the same reason, don't add radishes, and meat would be superfluous too. If you want something filling, make Ukrainian borscht or meat okroshka with kvass – it's much more substantial. If the beet broth isn't mixed with soured milk, it needs a little acidity. Grape vinegar is the best way to add it. Oh, and don't use kefir. Better to buy a liter of milk and make your own soured milk.