Okroshka with beets, or Belarusian cold soup is a great solution for a summer lunch. The main ingredient of this dish is red beets - a vegetable that is headed by more than one recipe. Salads and vegetable side dishes, hearty soups and cold appetizers are made from it, and beetroot okroshka is a crown dish that symbolizes the beginning of the hot season.
Cooking basics
Okroshka in Russia has been known for centuries. This dish takes an honorable first place among numerous cold soups. That is why most often it is cooked in a sultry summer. The main principle of preparation is the grinding of vegetables and cooked meat, followed by pouring a liquid base.
The latter can be prepared on the basis of several ingredients - it can be cold kvass, kefir, whey, mayonnaise or just boiled water.
The main components of okroshka are raw vegetables. Cucumbers, radishes, beets, turnips, potatoes, etc. - all this can be used to make beetroot soup. Often, boiled meat, ham or sausage is added to all of the above ingredients. Finishes the list of basic ingredients with fresh herbs in unlimited quantities.
Based on the foregoing, it can be said that okroshka is the most common dish from the category “Tasty and healthy recipes”.
Classic recipe
In order to cook okroshka with beets on kefir, you will need the following ingredients:
- Two medium-sized boiled beets.
- Egg.
- Fresh herbs (parsley and dill).
- 1 liter of kefir.
- Sour cream for dressing.
- Salt.
- Fresh cucumbers.
- Onion feathers.
In the traditional sense, the recipe for okroshka with beets consists in chopping vegetables and then pouring them with a liquid base. In this case, it will be kefir.
Cooking method
First of all, it is necessary to clean the beets with a brush and boil to a soft consistency. Together with it, you can cook eggs. After this, cool the ingredients. Grate beets on a coarse grater, and cut the eggs into 2 parts.
Then you should proceed to the rest of the ingredients. Wash the cucumbers, trim the ends and cut into small half rings. Wash and dry green onions thoroughly, then chop and put on the bottom of the dishes, in which okroshka with beets will be cooked. You can sprinkle it with salt and grind it with a pusher.
After that, add all the ingredients to the onion and pour kefir. At the very last moment, a chicken egg is added. To make okroshka more liquid, dilute kefir with boiled water.
Lithuanian okroshka
This recipe is often used to make a summer meal. Cold soup perfectly saturates and does not leave a feeling of heaviness in the hot season. To prepare a Lithuanian chill, you will need the following ingredients:
- Beets - 3 pieces of medium size.
- Cucumbers - the same amount.
- Mineral water.
- Onion feathers - 1 bunch.
- Chicken eggs - 4 pieces.
- A bunch of fresh dill.
- Parsley - 1 bunch.
- Sour cream.
- Salt.
- Homemade yogurt.
Cooking this dish in the Lithuanian way differs in some nuances, but in general it is the same recipe for traditional okroshka with beets.
Step by step recipe
First of all, you need to cook beets. It is best to do this with a microwave. To do this, put the beets in a plastic bag for baking and send in the microwave for 4 minutes. Then check the preparedness of the ingredient with a fork. If necessary, you can continue to cook beets for a while. If there is no microwave nearby, you can simply boil the vegetables.
Boil chicken eggs, cool under a stream of cold water and chop on a coarse grater or with a knife.
Wash and grate cucumbers on a coarse grater. Can also be chopped with a knife. Rinse the onion greens thoroughly under running water and chop.
Now you can return to the main ingredient again. Cool the beets and chop on a grater. After that, combine all the ingredients in the tureen, mix with sour cream and season with salt.
It remains only to fill in all the yogurt and mix. You can bring okroshka with beets to the desired consistency using mineral water. Cold soup is ready - you can serve it to the table, generously seasoning with fresh herbs.
Tasty and healthy recipes: okroshka on bread kvass
The principles that underlie the preparation of a hearty summer dinner allow you to create unusual combinations of ingredients. So, okroshka with beetroot on kefir is a classic version of summer soup. But if bread kvass is used instead of kefir, you can get a particularly rich taste, which will always be associated with summer.
So, to prepare this dish you will need the following ingredients:
- Fresh beets - 200 grams (you can use pickled vegetables, which are sold at every grocery store).
- Salt.
- Two carrots.
- Fresh greens of dill and parsley - one bunch each.
- Fresh and pickled cucumber.
- Sour cream.
- Egg.
- Sugar and vinegar.
- Three glasses of bread kvass (you can use a finished product).
Soup will turn out incredibly tasty and satisfying, if you follow all the recommendations below.
Cooking method
Raw beets should be thoroughly washed, peeled and cut into small slices, then put in a pan, add a small amount of water and vinegar, and then simmer over low heat. Strain and cool the broth.
Carrots should be boiled to a soft consistency directly in the peel. Then peel it and cut into small pieces.
Fresh and pickled cucumbers can be grated on a coarse grater. Boil eggs and cut into medium-sized slices.
In the tureen, mix the boiled carrots, chopped into small cubes, an egg, cucumbers and sour cream, then add salt, sugar and chopped onions to them. After all the components are mixed, you should add the beets along with the broth and pour everything with bread kvass. Serve the dish to the table in portioned dishes, garnishing with fresh herbs and a slice of boiled egg.
Okroshka with beef
Using boiled meat allows you to cook an incredibly satisfying and tasty dish. In fact, you can use any classic cold soup recipe. You can make a variety with the help of boiled meat. Fillet of beef or pork is boiled in a separate container. It is advisable to tear the finished meat into small pieces and add to the beetroot okroshka immediately before serving.
Some housewives prefer to use ordinary boiled sausage or salami, previously fried in a pan.
A variety of okroshka recipes allows you to create simple and tasty dishes that very quickly disappear from the plates.