Kholodnik

Ingredients

Beetroot

• 600 gbeetroot
• 1 tablespoonvinegar
• or juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoonsugar

The soup

• 1 litrekefir
• or soured milk or buttermilk
• 500 mlcold beetroot cooking water
• 2cucumbers, diced small
• 6spring onions, sliced
• a large bunch of dill, chopped
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• 4hard-boiled eggs, halved
• soured cream
• more dill
• hot boiled potatoes
• served separately

Directions

1. Wash the beetroot but do not peel it. Leave the skin and the root tail on. Trim the stems to about two centimetres. Cut beetroot bleeds its colour into the water. Whole unpeeled beetroot keeps its colour. Leave it intact until it is cooked. Boiling the beetroot takes some time.
2. Put the beetroot in a large pot. Cover it over well with cold water. Add the vinegar and the sugar. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Give it about forty minutes to cook. Strain it and let it cool completely. Let them cool enough to handle.
3. Rub the skins off with your fingers. Wear gloves if that bothers you. Rinse boards immediately after use. Grate the peeled beetroot coarsely. Dice the cucumbers up quite small. Peel them first if the skin is thick. Slice the spring onions finely. Chop the dill very generously.
4. Put the eggs into a pan of cold water. Bring the pan up to a full boil. Give them about nine minutes to cook. Cool them under running cold water. Peel them and cut them in half. Put the grated beetroot in a large bowl. Add the diced cucumber in with it.
5. Add the spring onions and the dill. Pour in the kefir or soured milk. Add the cold beetroot cooking water. It should be a properly pourable soup. Add more beetroot water if it is heavy. Add more kefir if it is too thin. Seasoning it takes real tasting.
6. Add salt generously and black pepper. Cold food needs more salt than hot food. Taste it cold rather than at room temperature. It will taste flat if under-salted.
7. Add lemon juice if it needs more edge. Add a pinch of sugar if it is too sharp. Taste it again after chilling. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it. Give it at least three full hours. Peel the potatoes and boil them whole. Give them about twenty minutes.
8. Drain them and keep them properly hot. Ladle the cold soup into bowls. Add two egg halves to each bowl. Spoon soured cream over the top. Scatter more chopped dill over it. Serve the hot potatoes in a separate bowl. Put butter on the table for them. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• The soup is served genuinely cold and the potatoes genuinely hot, in a separate bowl rather than in the soup, and diners eat a spoonful of each in turn; that temperature contrast is deliberate and is how the dish is meant to be eaten.
• Beetroot pigment fades in alkaline conditions and stays vivid in acidic ones, which is why vinegar goes into the cooking water and why the acidic soured milk keeps the finished soup such a strong pink.
• Cold dulls the perception of seasoning, so this needs more salt than a hot soup would; taste it cold rather than at room temperature, and taste it again after chilling.

Substitutions

• Buttermilk or thin soured cream stand in for kefir.
• Grated beetroot gives colour throughout while diced stays as distinct pieces.

Variations

• Lithuanian saltibarsciai and Polish chlodnik are the same idea.
• Some cooks add radish or cooked veal alongside the vegetables.
• The hot potatoes are served with butter in most households.

History

Cold beetroot soup with soured milk, cucumber and dill, served in summer with hot boiled potatoes on the side.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kholodnik?

Kholodnik is a soup & stew from Belarus: cold beet soup with cucumber, egg, dill. Cold beetroot soup with soured milk, cucumber and dill, served in summer with hot boiled potatoes on the side.

How long does Kholodnik take to make?

Kholodnik takes 30 minutes plus chilling of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kholodnik?

Yes, within limits. Buttermilk or thin soured cream stand in for kefir. Grated beetroot gives colour throughout while diced stays as distinct pieces.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kholodnik?

Wash the beetroot but do not peel it. Leave the skin and the root tail on. Trim the stems to about two centimetres. Cut beetroot bleeds its colour into the water. Whole unpeeled beetroot keeps its colour. Leave it intact until it is cooked. Boiling the beetroot takes some time.