KT Cooked It: Chłodnik

A WHAT is she cooking? Don't worry, there is a background story!

During the two weeks that I spent in Poland with relatives, my cousin and his wife made sure that I had an authentic experience, which included eating traditional Polish dishes. Of all of the food that I tried, I was most impressed with Evelyn's cold beet soup, or chłodnik. Chłodnik (pronounced phonetically "hu-WADH-nyeek") is a popular refreshing soup eaten during the summer, and is similar to barszcz (borscht) eaten throughout central Europe. Or you can think of it as the Polish version of gazpacho!

Trust me when I say that the idea of "cold beet soup" was initially stomach churning to me. But, not being one to turn down a new dish, I tried the soup and was pleasantly surprised. Like most Polish food that I have eaten, chłodnik is not overpowered with spices or seasonings, instead relying on the savory flavors of vegetables and some fresh dill.

Unfortunately I don't have a family recipe for chłodnik. However, there are innumerable blogs and websites with various versions of the soup. After browsing through 4 or 5 of the best reviewed recipes that I could find, I made my grocery list and set off to work making my first ever batch of chłodnik!

Ingredients: 

• 4 beets with stems, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup unsalted chicken stock
• 1 large cucumber, grated
• 6 radishes, grated
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 pint low fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup low fat sour cream
• 3 Tbl fresh dill
• 3 eggs, hard boiled eggs

First, I cut the beets from their stems, and then peeled and chopped the beets into small cubes. Other recipes called for julienning the beets if you prefer that. Also, BE WARNED - beets will stain your hands, counter, clothes, etc. So don't wear anything nice while chopping your veggies, and wash your hands frequently to prevent them from turning purple!

Next, I chopped the beet stems into small sections. Some recipes also included cutting up the beet leaves, but that seemed odd to me (because eating cold soup is so routine?) so I excluded that part. 

Then I placed the chopped beets and stems into a pot. I covered the vegetables with water, then brought the beets and water to a boil until the beets were tender, which took about 15 minutes. I added the chicken stock, and then set the mix aside to cool. 

While the beets cooled, I chopped the green onions and grates the cucumbers and radishes. 

Next, I whisked the buttermilk and sour cream, then added the dill. I placed the mix in the refrigerator to keep it nice and cool!

While the mix was cooling, I hard boiled my eggs and chopped them into slices once they were cool.

Once the beets were cool enough, I began to mix my soup together, starting with combining the milk and cucumber mix. Finally, I added the beets and I had my first batch of chłodnik ready to eat!

And here you have a delicious, refreshing chłodnik ready to eat! This recipe was really easy, and SO good...and it made quite a bit of left-overs too :) 

Smacznego! Bon appétit!