Chlodnik - Chilled Beet Soup
One of my favorite dishes to make during the hottest days of summer is a light, refreshing chilled beet soup from Poland, called chlodnik. This soup checks all the boxes when it comes to food energetics and attuning to the Fire element and summer climate; it’s cooling, made with red beets, and incorporates all five flavors with an emphasis on pungent veggies and herbs. It offers a delicious combination of flavor and texture – savory, earthy beets, greens and onions, fresh green herbs, a light tanginess, and a delicate crunch. It’s also a beautiful shade of fuchsia!
Recipes for chlodnik vary from one household to the next, but the requisite ingredients for a traditional version are beets, cucumber, radish, dill and buttermilk. Any cultured dairy, like kefir or yogurt, will work fine, or, for a dairy free version, you can achieve that same creamy tanginess from some raw pickle brine and a non-dairy yogurt or cashew cream. If you don’t have fresh dill, use a little dried. If you don’t like dill, any chopped fresh herbs you have on hand will be delicious – parsley, thyme, mint, chives, or scallion, etc. I usually like to use a mix, if I can. This soup is typically served topped with chopped or halved hard boiled eggs. It’s fairly easy to make, and as long as you have the four main ingredients, (or substitutions) on hand, you can whip up something tasty, if not traditional, with whatever amounts you have. I don’t usually use a recipe when I make this, but I will give some general quantities below to help the less confident get started.
For 4 Servings of Chlodnik:
Cover 2-4 medium beet roots with an inch of water in a large pot and boil until tender enough to pierce with a knife – 10-20 minutes depending on freshness of the beets. In another pot Hard-boil 4 eggs. Once the beets are cooked through, drain in a colander and let the beets cool enough to handle. Holding them under cold running water, slip the skins off using gentle pressure. (If you cook your beets and eggs the day before, the soup will be finished very quickly).
While beets and eggs are cooking, finely chop 1 small onion or the white portion of a bunch of scallions. If you have the beet greens on hand (or several leaves of chard) and wish to add them, wash well, separate the greens from the stem and finely chop the leaves. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil (or butter) and sauté the onion and greens, if using, until the onion is soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
Peel 1-2 medium cucumbers, remove the seeds and either finely dice (for more crunch) or coarsely grate them on a box grater (for a smoother texture). Set aside.
Finely grate 5-6 large red radishes or a few inches of a daikon radish, if using. (You can also just slice radish very thinly and use as a garnish if you prefer not to mix into the soup).
Finely chop 1-2 bunches of fresh dill, chives, scallion greens, parsley, mint or thyme – or a combination.
Next, gather your liquid/s. You’ll want about 3-4 cups total liquid - depending how thick or thin you want your soup – which should lend both a tangy flavor and a creamy texture. Options are buttermilk, kefir, plain yogurt, sour cream, cashew cream, lacto-pickle brine (from raw sauerkraut or kosher dill pickles, etc), lemon juice and broth. You can use a single ingredient, if it does both jobs and you have enough on hand, or use a combination.
When your beets are cooked and cooled, either grate them coarsely on a box grater (for a soup with more texture) or you puree them in a blender or processor until smooth (if you prefer a silkier texture).
Peel and rinse the eggs and either slice in half or chop. Set aside.
Assemble the soup: In a medium pot, combine the beets, onions and greens, if using, and mix to combine. Stir in some of your liquid, starting with about a cup. Add the cucumber, radish, and all or most of the herbs (save a few pinches for garnish, if you wish). Add a pinch or two of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine. TASTE the soup and continue to add liquid, acid, salt and pepper until the soup reaches your desired consistency and tanginess.
Chill for at least a couple hours, or overnight (for best flavor), but allow to come closer to room-temperature before serving. Ladle soup into bowls and top with hard-boiled egg. A dollop of yogurt or sour cream, more chopped herbs, sliced or grated radish, chopped dill pickle, and/or a spoon of sauerkraut also make great additional toppings.