Category: Soups (Page 4 of 5)
Lithuanian Borscht (Cold Borscht)
June 26th, 2010 in Cold Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
Are you suffering from hot weather like me? When outside feels like in the oven there is no better food to eat than cold soup. Lithuanian borscht is a nice refreshing buttermilk based cold soup you can put together without any extra hassle and then enjoy it sitting on the patio.
The real trick to Lithuanian borscht is to find good kefir – it should be original kefir which hasn’t been flavored with any tastes, not salted and not sweetened. I used plain unsweetened kefir (can be replaced with buttermilk) from Lifeway and it worked out perfectly.
The rest of ingredients: vegetables (beets, cucumber and greens) and hard boiled eggs, are easy to get and not pricey at all. And btw, even though this soup is called a “borscht”, the only thing it has in common to other borschts, I guess, is the color.
Soup-Purée with Broccoli and Chicken
May 8th, 2010 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
This bright green colored soup-purée (or cream soup) made of chicken, broccoli and some other vegies is probably the quickest to prepare soup I know.
It is also nutritious: loaded with healthy vegetables and white chicken meat, which are boiled, pureed and blended together for tasty creamy texture.
All that makes this soup very good choice not only for kids, but also for people who prefer soft food.
Russian Sauerkraut Soup (Schi)
February 12th, 2010 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
Sauerkraut soup, also called sour schi, is a traditional russian main first course dish for several hundreds year.
Original recipes for schi (there are more that one: sour schi, grey schi, green schi) usually include some kind meat, some kind cabbage, carrots, potatoes and spices. Sour schi are prepared with sauerkraut or mix of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage.
I do cook schi with just sauerkraut and I prefer pork broth for sauerkraut schi, however you may use beef for it if you don’t like pork.
Lenten Borscht with Mushroom Dumplings
December 12th, 2009 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
In a lot of countries Christmas Eve dinner gathers whole family around one big table. Borscht with mushroom dumplings is the one of 12 dishes which usually are on that table by tradition in West Ukraine (by the way those dumplings are called “vushka” in ukrainian, which means “small ears”, I guess because of the shape).
Of course, because that is the Christmas Eve and Nativity Fast isn’t finished yet there is no meat used to prepare it: just vegetables and dried mushrooms. This borscht like the rest of the Christmas Eve’s traditional food is lenten, it is very tasty and isn’t heavy at all – most of the vegetables are used to prepare clear broth only and don’t get served with the borscht itself.
At first glance, it may look like cooking it is a bit of a hassle and time spending: so many steps (I’ve prepared 34 step-by-step pictures for this recipe!) and so many manipulations with different cooking utensils. However, you can complete preparation steps a day in advance – for example soak mushrooms, boil them or/and boil beets, you can even make dumplings a day before, freeze them and prepare the borscht next day. And then, nobody said you need to make everything yourself: involve your family into helping you! And have a Merry Christmas!
Chicken Soup with Egg Linguine
October 24th, 2009 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
I think – and I hope you will agree with me – nothing tastes better in the cold fall weather than a bowl of hot soup. Make it a chicken soup and it will be hard for you to stop feeling warm and cozy even if outside it is raining since the last week.
Should I also mention what soups, especially chicken soups, are very good for the digestive system, especially if body is weakened by recently or ongoing illness. What can be better for the upcoming flu-season?
Lets gather the ingredients and make tasty noodle soup: Chicken Soup with Egg Linguine, it is really easy after all.
Okroshka
August 29th, 2009 in Cold Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
Okroshka is traditional russian cold soup. It is perfect meal for hot summer weather as it is prepared on the base of kvass – russian bread drink – and it is light and very refreshing.
Finding good fresh kvass for okroshka can be challenging outside of former-USSR. You may try russian or ukrainian shop, or, of course, you can prepare kvass yourself. But If you are not lucky with any of these, you can also replace kvass with mineral water, kefir diluted with boiled cold water or even light beer.
Borscht (Beetroot Soup)
May 31st, 2009 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
Borscht (borsch, borshch) or beet root soup is very popular in a Eastern and Central Europe countries. Who of you didn’t hear about russian or ukrainian borscht?
It is one of 3 common things which usually come to people minds when they are asked about Russia or Ukraine. Well, other 2 would be: good looking girls and vodka, of course.
As you’ve probably noticed, this blog is about cooking (not about dating or drinking), so I will show you how to make Borscht (Beetroot Soup) in this post, please use Google to find more info on slavic brides or famous russian alcoholic beverages if you feel like this.