Polish-style Cold Beet Soup (Chłodnik Litewski)

Step 1

Thoroughly wash the beets with their greens under cold running water.

Step 2

Cut off all the beetroots.

Step 3

[it’s worth wearing kitchen gloves for this task] Gently shake off excess water from leaves and stems. Chop them with a knife into pieces, roughly 0.6 in /1.5cm long. Leave them aside in a separate bowl.

Step 4

Without peeling the beetroots, chop them into larger pieces - if they’re small, you can leave them whole.

Step 5

Place the beetroots into a casserole dish with a lid. If you don’t have one, wrap the beets into aluminum foil and just place them on a baking tray.

Step 6

Bake for 40 minutes at 390°F (200°C). You can start straight away, there’s no need to preheat the oven. PRO TIP: You can bake a cake or roast some potatoes at the same time!

Step 7

[As the beetroots bake] Move the chopped greens into a cooking pot, add in just enough water to nearly cover them one-third of the way. Add in a tablespoon of lemon juice and braise on medium heat, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes. We want them to soften and release their juices.

Step 8

Hard-boil the eggs (I’ll link a good ‘how-to’ guide in the notes), leave them to cool, then gently peel and set aside.

Step 9

Peel the cucumbers, chop finely into small cubes, season with a generous pinch of salt. Leave them to drain on the sieve (over a bowl) for 15 minutes or so. That way the salt will draw out the excess water from the cukes.

Step 10

Chop the herbs (dill and chives) finely and set them aside.

Step 11

When the baking time is up, poke a piece of beetroot with a fork. If it’s still a bit firm, bake further for another 5-10 minutes. When beets cool down, peel them and chop them finely into small cubes.

Step 12

Pour soured milk and sour cream into a tall cooking pot. Beat them together with a whisk until clear bubbles appear. Add in braised beet greens, baked beetroots, chopped cucumber and chopped herbs. Combine with a spoon.

Step 13

Have a taste, then season with a generous pinch of sugar, salt and ground black pepper. Have a taste again. Does it need more seasoning? If so, add some more. I enjoy adding 2 or 3 tablespoons of beet zakwas/kvass at this stage, but that’s totally optional.

Step 14

It is best to put the soup in the fridge to chill, but if you’ve used cold milk and cream, ‘chłodnik’ can be served straight away.

Step 15

[optional] Place chopped roast leftovers at the bottom of each bowl/soup plate (if serving with meat), and pour the soup in.

Step 16

Garnish with halved or quartered boiled eggs, sliced radishes, butter-fried crayfish tails and more herbs.