Features of cooking okroshka for the summer. TOP 7 delicious cold soup recipes from the best chefs with different ingredients. Video recipes.
Okroshka is a traditional Russian cold first course that can be prepared with meat, fish or vegetables. In the classic recipe, white kvass serves as a liquid base, but in modern cookbooks you can find options with kefir, mayonnaise, birch kvass, different types of broths and even with beer. Further TOP-7 of the most successful ways to cook okroshka at home.
Features of cooking okroshka for the summer
For the first time, the recipe for okroshka was invented by Volga barge haulers. At the height of the shipping season, they were fed dried roach with kvass. The exhausting work affected the condition of their teeth, and in order to gnaw the fish, they had to first soak it in kvass. Later, to make such a stew more satisfying, barge haulers added baked potatoes, radishes, cucumbers and other vegetables to it.
The name of the cold first on kvass comes from the Old Russian verb "to chop", which means "to cut finely". You need to chop the solid ingredients of okroshka. Depending on the recipe, it may include:
- Vegetables. This is one of the main components. Boiled potatoes, radishes, carrots, rutabaga and fresh cucumber are most suitable for this dish. They are peeled and cut into small cubes. In the vegetable variety of soup, these components account for 1/2 of the vegetable mass, and in meat and fish - a quarter or a third.
- Greens. In the classic version of cooking okroshka, green onion feathers are used, but you can diversify the dish with any other greens.
- Meat. It can be anything. The best chefs combine poultry and livestock meat. One of the old Russian recipes describes how to make okroshka from the meat of a pig, turkey and black grouse. Based on it, you can combine tender pork, poultry and game in a cold soup. It is also common to combine boiled veal with or without poultry.
- A fish. Delicious okroshka is made from tench, perch and pike perch. The meat of these fish is neutral in taste and has a minimum amount of bones. You can also add sea fish to the dish. Works best with liquid base and cod vegetable flavors. It is neutral in taste and has a delicate texture.
- Eggs and sour cream. These ingredients are included in any kind of okroshka and are added to the dish at the end of cooking.
- Mushrooms. This component is optional. Pickled mushrooms are best suited to cold meat soup, and salted mushrooms to fish soup.
Okroshka is prepared step by step as follows:
- Chop all prepared foods;
- Mix with Spicy Soup Dressing;
- Let the ingredients in the dressing stand in a cold place for at least 30 minutes;
- Add spicy herbs;
- Fill solid ingredients with liquid base;
- Add sour cream.
Classic okroshka is prepared with kvass. It should be white, savory. This is the main difference between okroshechny kvass and ordinary bread kvass. For its preparation, rye flour is used, into which buckwheat and wheat flour can be mixed, as well as rye, barley or buckwheat malt. If desired, add mint to the wort. You can make kvass yourself. This takes 4-6 days.
To do this, prepare water - 3 l, sugar - 50 g, horseradish root - 1/2 pc., Black rye bread - 2 loaves of 700 g each. Cut the bread into large chunks. Place 1/4 of the whole bread evenly on a baking sheet and dry in the oven until dark brown. Thanks to these slices, the kvass will get a chocolate hue. Boil the water, dip the croutons into it, add sugar, peeled and chopped horseradish and the remaining bread slices. Cover the kvass with gauze and place in a warm place to ferment. When foam forms on its surface after 1-2 days, transfer it to a cold place for another 3-4 days. Strain the finished base through cheesecloth and place in a cold place. After 12 hours, strain it again and use it to cook classic okroshka on kvass.
In addition to kvass, the best chefs use the following ingredients as a liquid base for preparing cold soup:
- Kefir;
- Serum;
- Beer;
- Diluted vinegar;
- Mineral water;
- Meat or vegetable broth;
- Mayonnaise;
- Cucumber pickle;
- Tomato or other vegetable juices.
You can also make okroshka with ayran or birch kvass.
Since the calorie content of okroshka is quite low, with the right choice of ingredients, it can be used in dietary nutrition. The dish not only saturates the body with the necessary vitamins and minerals, but also refreshes well in the summer heat.
TOP-7 okroshka recipes for the summer
Cold soups can be made with different ingredients and different liquid bases. Having mastered the basics of a classic recipe, you can independently experiment with the ingredients and create your own culinary masterpiece. Here are 7 of the most delicious options for a hot summer.
Classic okroshka
The most common recipe for okroshka is with kvass. It can be diversified by adding boiled beef tongue along with veal. In this case, only kvass acts as a liquid component. It should not be sweet and white. In addition to green onions, you can also use other greens.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 300 kcal.
- Servings - 4
- Cooking time - 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- Fillet of beef - 200 g
- Radish - 1 pc.
- Potatoes - 2 pcs.
- Cucumber - 1 pc.
- Eggs - 4 pcs.
- Green onions - 1 bunch
- Kvass - 500 ml
Step by step preparation of classic okroshka:
- Boil the potatoes until tender, cool, peel, chop.
- Wash the radish, peel, chop on a coarse grater.
- Boil the meat, cool, chop.
- Wash the cucumbers, cut them like meat.
- Wash and chop the onion.
- Mix all the prepared ingredients in a deep container, salt and fill with kvass.
Pour the prepared soup into bowls, add a quarter of a boiled egg to each serving and place on the table. To add spice to the dish, you can make okroshka with mustard. For the specified amount of ingredients, it is enough to pour 1 tsp into kvass. hot sauce.
Okroshka with sour cream
According to this recipe, okroshka with chicken is the most delicious. Moreover, it is best to take not boiled poultry, but smoked poultry, then the summer soup will have a pleasant smoked aftertaste. Sour cream acidified with lemon is used as a liquid component. If you prepare in advance everything you need for okroshka, then it will take no more than 45 minutes to prepare the dish.
Ingredients:
- Potatoes - 500 g
- Cucumber - 250 g
- Smoked chicken (fillet) - 250 g
- Eggs - 4 pcs.
- Sour cream 20% - 250 g
- Greens (green onions, parsley, dill) - 30 g
- Salt to taste
- Citric acid - 4 g
Step by step cooking okroshka with sour cream:
- Peel the potatoes, wash, chop.
- Place the potato cubes in a saucepan, pour 2 liters of water and place on the stove. After boiling, salt the water, reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes.
- Put ice water in a large bowl and place a pot of potatoes in it. Do not drain the broth.
- Boil the eggs, cool, remove the shell from them. Separate the whites from the yolks and chop.
- Remove the skin from the chicken and chop finely.
- Wash the cucumbers, peel and chop if necessary.
- Rinse the greens, dry and finely chop.
- In a deep bowl, combine the chicken fillet, cucumbers, proteins and herbs.
- Add the prepared mixture to the potato broth with potatoes.
- Grind the egg yolks on a grater and add to the pan with the rest of the ingredients.
- Add sour cream to the soup and stir everything thoroughly.
- Drain some of the liquid into a separate container, pour lemon into it and stir everything thoroughly.
- Pour the citric acid solution back into the soup.
Place okroshka on sour cream with smoked chicken in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. When it has cooled down properly, place it on the table, garnish with egg halves, olives, or a lemon wedge.
Okroshka with sausage
Thanks to the use of ready-made meat product, you do not have to spend a lot of time preparing a refreshing summer soup according to this recipe. With sausage, you can make okroshka on whey, fat-free kefir or kvass. The main thing is that the bases are at least 2-2.5 liters. The sausage can be boiled or semi-smoked. The indicated amount of ingredients is enough to feed 6 people.
Ingredients:
- Liquid base - 2-2.5 l
- Sour cream - 100 g
- Sausage - 150 g
- Potatoes - 6 pcs.
- Boiled eggs - 3 pcs.
- Cucumbers - 2-3 pcs.
- Green onions - 1 bunch
- Fresh dill - 1 bunch
- Salt - 1 tsp
Step by step cooking okroshka with sausage:
- Boil the potatoes in their uniform until tender, cool, peel, chop.
- Boil the eggs, cool, remove the shell, chop finely.
- Remove the skin from the sausage, cut it into small cubes.
- Wash greens, dry, chop finely.
- Wash cucumbers, chop.
- Mix all the prepared components, salt, make a blank for okroshka with sour cream.
- Fill the sausage and vegetable mass with the liquid base. If you are using fatty kefir, first dilute it with cold boiled water.
Serve chilled okroshka with sausage, garnish each portion with a spoonful of sour cream and a sprig of herbs.
Okroshka with beets
Due to the addition of beets, this cold soup, unlike other types of okroshka on kefir, has not white, but a rich pink color. It perfectly refreshes in the heat and saturates well, because, in addition to vegetables, it also includes boiled sausage. This okroshka is prepared on mineral water mixed with kefir, and for additional cooling, pieces of ice can also be added to the liquid base.
Ingredients:
- Kefir - 1 l
- Mineral water - 500 ml
- Beets - 250 g
- Boiled sausage - 230 g
- Cucumbers - 200 g
- Potatoes - 350 g
- Eggs - 3 pcs.
- Green onions - 20 g
- Fresh dill - 20 g
- Fresh parsley - 15 g
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper - to taste
Step by step cooking okroshka with beets:
- Boil potatoes and beets until tender in a peel. Cool vegetables, peel.
- Boil eggs hard-boiled, cool, remove the shell from them, chop finely.
- Chop potato tubers on a coarse grater or mash with a fork until mushy.
- Wash cucumbers, dry, cut into cubes.
- Chop the sausage.
- In a large container, combine potatoes, sausage, eggs and cucumbers.
- Wash the greens, dry them, chop finely and add to the sausage and vegetable mass. Salt everything and add ground pepper.
- In a separate container, grate the beets on a medium grater. Pour it with kefir, add mineral water, salt. Mix everything and put the filling in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
Place okroshka with potatoes, sausage, eggs and other ingredients on portioned plates. Fill each portion with kefir-beet filling and decorate with finely chopped herbs. If you are cooking okroshka with beets in hot weather, toss 2 ice cubes into each serving before serving.
Okroshka on water with vinegar
This is a budget version of cold soup "for the lazy". Time should be spent only on boiling potatoes and eggs, the rest of the ingredients of the dish are used ready-made. Such okroshka is made in water with vinegar, to which mayonnaise is added for a richer taste. Sausage can be boiled or semi-smoked.
Ingredients:
- Potatoes - 2 pcs.
- Cucumbers - 2 pcs.
- Onions - 1/4 pcs.
- Sausage - 300 g
- Eggs - 4 pcs.
- Mayonnaise to taste
- Water - 1-1.5 l
- Vinegar - 0.5 tbsp
- Salt to taste
Step by step cooking okroshka in water with vinegar:
- Boil eggs hard-boiled, potatoes - in their skins. Cool them down and peel them off. Cut both components into small cubes.
- Wash cucumbers, dry, cut into small cubes.
- Remove the skin from the sausage and chop it.
- Peel and chop the onion. Substitute green onions if desired.
- Mix the prepared ingredients in a deep container. Pour all over with mayonnaise and mix again.
- Pour okroshka with mayonnaise with water, pour in vinegar, mix everything again and put in a cold place.
If you do not like okroshka with vinegar, you can replace it with citric acid. Garnish each portion of cold soup with finely chopped herbs and a lemon wedge before serving.
Okroshka with sprat in tomato
Unlike the classic version of cold soup, according to this recipe, okroshka cannot be cooked on kefir, ayran, yogurt or whey, since the combination of fish and fermented milk product can lead to undesirable consequences. Only kvass is used as a filling in this dish, which is mixed with mayonnaise for a richer taste.
Ingredients:
- Canned food "Sprat in tomato" - 1 can
- Mayonnaise - 250 g
- Eggs - 4 pcs.
- Cucumber - 1 pc.
- Radish - 6-8 pcs.
- Potatoes - 3 pcs.
- Carrots - 1-2 pcs.
- Green peas - 100 g
- Kvass - 1 l
- Green onions - 1 bunch
- Parsley to taste
- Dill - to taste
Step by step cooking okroshka with sprat in tomato:
- Boil eggs hard-boiled, cool, remove the shell from them, grind on a coarse grater.
- Boil carrots and potatoes in a peel until tender. Refrigerate, peel, grind.
- Mash the sprat with a fork together with the tomato until mushy.
- Wash the greens, dry, chop finely.
- According to this recipe, okroshka is prepared with cucumbers and radishes, pre-wash and dry the vegetables, then grind them on a coarse grater.
- Mix all prepared vegetables and sprat in a deep container, add green peas and mix everything.
- Season the blank for okroshka with sprat with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, mix everything.
- Pour kvass over the workpiece and refrigerate.
Pour the chilled soup into portioned bowls and serve with slices of fresh brown bread.
Okroshka on beer
For the preparation of beer okroshka, it is advisable to use dark beer with minimal bitterness. It should contain rye malt. There are certain types of rye beer, for example, Guinness, Baltika Velvetnoe, and from the European varieties you can choose Roggenbier or Rye beer. Light varieties are not suitable for making okroshka on beer, since they have a pronounced hop aftertaste and are slightly bitter. Also, do not use cheap brands, as the alcohol they contain can spoil the taste of cold soup.
Optionally, you can cook beer okroshka with meat or sausage. Veal, lamb, pork will do. Sausage can be boiled, smoked, you can take thin hunting sausages, which at the same time can be an excellent snack for beer.
Ingredients:
- Red radish - 2 pcs.
- Fresh cucumber - 1 pc.
- Green onions - 3-4 feathers
- Boiled sausage or boiled meat - 250 g
- Egg - 1 pc.
- Potatoes - 1 pc.
- Dark beer - 0.5 l
- Salt, seasonings, spices - to taste
- Sour cream or mayonnaise - to taste
Step-by-step preparation of okroshka on beer:
- Boil potato tubers until tender, eggs - hard boiled. Cool everything, remove the peel and shell.
- Chop potatoes, eggs, clean and dry cucumbers, as well as skinless sausage or meat.
- Wash the radish, dry it, cut into thin rings.
- Wash the greens, dry and chop finely.
- In a deep container, mix all the ingredients, salt, add seasonings. Mix everything and set aside for 4-5 minutes to soak.
- Pour the resulting blank for okroshka with beer. Do this gently so it doesn't foam too much. Mix everything.
- To make the dish richer, add a few tablespoons of fat sour cream or mayonnaise to it. Mix everything thoroughly.
Cool the beer okroshka before serving. Add a dessert spoon of sour cream to each plate, sprinkle with finely chopped dill on top and garnish with a slice of boiled egg. If you wish, you can decorate the dish with halves of olives or a slice of lemon.
Note! The dish contains alcohol, so they should not be fed to children.
