The last few days have felt hotter than satan’s kitchen on the 4th of July. If you find yourself melting under the sun, craving something light and refreshing, consider chłodnik! Chłodnik is a chilled barszcz (aka borscht) that is usually mixed with kefir and/or sour cream, creating a vibrant pink soup! The Polish answer to gazpacho. Does it sort of taste like a salad in soup form? Tak. Does the color remind one of pepto? Mayhaps! But it is yummy and pretty easy to put together, so give it a go! One note in ingredients…get a bunch of beets with the greens still attached. If you can only find loose beets, no prob, just add one bunch of Swiss chard or even lacinato kale.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium beets with greens
• 4 Persian cucumber or 1 English cucumber
• 10-12 red radishes
• 1 cup kefir
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 bunch of dill
• 2 green onions (or small bunch of chives)
• 4 eggs, hard boiled (optional)
• 2 tbsp white vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1 clove garlic
• 10-12 cups water or vegetable stock
• Salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Cut greens off of beets and put to side. Wash and peel beetroots. Shred the beetroots using the largest hole on a grater and add to a soup pot. Add salt (start with 1 tsp) and water or stock, and one pressed clove of garlic. Turn heat to medium-high and cook for 5-10 minutes or until beets have softened. Remove from heat, set aside and cool, preferably in fridge.

In a small pot, add 2 cups of water and 1 tsp salt, and bring to near boil. Add the beet greens to the pot of water. Turn heat down to low and blanche for one minute. Remove greens, and once cool enough to handle, roughly chop. Add to cooled beet soup.

Grate half of the cucumber and radishes the same size as the beets, and add to cooled soup mixture. Thinly slice the other half for garnish.

Add vinegar, black pepper, chopped dill, green onions, kefir, and sour cream to pot. Mix and taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Refrigerate for half hour before serving.

After dishing soup into bowls, garnish with sliced cucumbers, radish, and quartered hard boiled eggs.

Smacznego!