Chilled Fresh Veggie Soup. Summer is officially here! Beaches, sand and fun in the sun. The days are long and the last thing you want to be doing is spending time indoors cooking. Barbecues and grill-outs aside, most of us are looking for quick and easy recipes to keep us cool and satiated.
Below are two of our chilled favorites, Okroshka and Svekolnik (Cold Borscht). Both are great sources of vitamins and can be whipped up in no time with just a little prep work.
Ingredients:
Okroshka
- 2 med potatoes cooked
- 3 bunches of green onion
- 4 small radishes
- 2 med persian cucumbers
- 3 eggs (can be just egg whites)
- 1/2 cup chopped bologna or cooked chicken breast
- finely chopped dill (and fresh mint leaves to taste)
- salt and peper
- 6-7 cups Yogurt Drink
- 1 cup fizzy water
Instructions:
- Boil eggs and potatoes ahead of time and let chill.
- Chop ingredients into small cubes and combine in a bowl.
- Pour the yogurt drink and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add fizzy water and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice for more zing.
- Simmer the stuffed peppers in tomato sauce for about 20 minutes.
- Enjoy chilled! Can be made #vegetarian by skipping the bologna and eggs.
Ingredients:
Svekolnik
- 5 medium sized beets
- 3 medium potatoes
- 4 hard boiled eggs chopped
- 2 medium cucumbers chopped
- 6 small radishes chopped
- 1 cup minced scallions or green onion
- 1 lemon halved
- 1/2 cup minced dill
- 10-12 cups water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sour cream as garnish
Instructions:
- Clean and cut beets and potatoes into small cubes.
- Add water, a squeeze of lemon and salt and bring everything to boil.
- Let the beet stock simmer for a few minutes before taking off the heat.
- The mixture should be a rich red or deep pink color.
- Chill the liquid in the refrigerator – preferably overnight.
- Finely chop hard boiled eggs, radishes and cucumbers and place in individual plates.
- Mince the green onions (or scallions) and dill. Add the chilled beet stock to the ingredients.
- Garnish and enjoy with a dollop of sour cream!
