Okroshka Russian Summer Soup

Okroshka (окро́шка) is a refreshing soup served cold. I call okroshka Russian summer soup because warm weather is the perfect time to serve it. We can make okroshka in two primary ways. For the first method we use kvass as the liquid instead of a traditional soup broth. In the second method we use kefir, a kind of drinkable yogurt, as the broth. I will dedicate another post to kefir itself; we’ve already explored making kvass. You can find both versions of the okroshka recipe at the end of this post . The preparation techniques and ingredients, save for the “broth,” remain nearly the identical.

The origins of okroshka

Kvass was the original basis for okroshka (окрошка на квасе). The ingredients in the soup are all finely and evenly diced, much like a chef salad, and then combined with the kvass or kefir at serving time. The word okroshka comes from the Russian verb kroshit’ (крошить) meaning to crumble or cut into small pieces . Culinary historians attribute the origin of the soup to barge haulers on the Volga River who ate dried fish and kvass for lunch. Others believe farm laborers first consumed okroshka. Kvass, a fermented drink, kept well outdoors and was refreshing in the heat. The barge haulers, called burlaks (бурлаки), rehydrated the fish with kvass. Eventually someone added uncooked, cut-up fresh vegetables to complement the meal. Painter Ilya Repin immortalized the burlaks in his famous work of Russian realism called “Barge Haulers on the Volga” (Бурлаки на Волге). I suspect you’ve seen it. Who wouldn’t need refreshment after work like that?

Regardless of whether burlaks originated the soup on the rivers or peasants in the fields, the soup represents a convenient way to eat a meal on the go because it is served cold and uncooked. Today’s more elaborate versions, however, would be less convenient to prepare under those conditions with so many finely diced ingredients, spices, cooked meats and potatoes included. Incidentally the kefir version (окрошка с кефиром), a later innovation, doesn’t stray that much from the original when you consider that kefir is also a fermented drink. The kvass version is often garnished with sour cream making it not altogether different.

Getting started of okroshka Russian summer soup

My Ukrainian friend Andrij says he much prefers the kefir version although he loves kvass as a beverage. He also told me I’m not garnishing okroshka with nearly enough dill. “It should be green with a little white,” he said with a laugh. I happen to agree with him about the kefir but I garnished lightly for aesthetic reasons since this blog includes photos. Nevertheless your primary decision when preparing to make this recipe is which liquid to use as broth. Kvass or homemade kefir will both take some planning ahead, yet most major U.S. grocery stores today sell commercially prepared kefir. Look for it in the dairy case. You many not be able to find bottled kvass.

This no-cook recipe will require prep time to cut up all the ingredients. Only two require pre-cooking: the potatoes and the eggs. Start by peeling two potatoes, cutting them into chunks and boiling them until cooked but still firm, about 10-15 minutes depending on how big the pieces are. Similarly, boil two eggs. For perfectly cooked large eggs with no green yolks, bring the eggs to boil in the water. When the water boils, turn off the heat and leave the eggs in the pan, covered, for 13 minutes. Run the cooked eggs under cool water to stop the cooking.

Now it gets dicey… Okroshka Russian summer soup

Meanwhile, start dicing the other ingredients. Cut a half pound of cooked ham, five radishes and one English cucumber into ¼-inch dice. You could save time using a food processor or onion chopper but the pieces won’t be as pretty and uniform. You’ve got about 15 minutes while things cook, so why not do a little deft dicing? If using a regular cucumber instead of a seedless English cucumber, you might want to de-seed it before dicing. It’s your choice regarding the peel. I personally like the color and crunch.

When the potatoes are cooled enough to touch, dice them to the same dimensions. Slice two green onions. Note: I diced the potatoes raw and then microwaved them so they would look prettier in pictures. You can also chop the peeled boiled eggs at this point. I sliced them and added them before serving for a nice presentation.

Place the diced ingredients in a serving tureen or in individual serving bowls in equal quantities. Add a quart of chilled kvass (or kefir), season with about a half teaspoon of salt, and stir together. If kefir is a little thick, feel free to dilute with a little cold water to the consistency of a thin cream soup. This soup is best served cold so at this point refrigerate the soup for about an hour before serving. When ready to serve, garnish with a dollop of sour cream (you can omit this if using kefir–double dairy seems redundant to me), sliced egg and a sprinkle of dill–or a handful if you prefer. Andrij, I’m looking at you.

And that’s it! Okroshka is sort of like a liquid salad. I don’t really even like radishes all that much but this soup is surprisingly tasty. The radishes give it a spicy crunch. Next time I will try turnip instead. You can also experiment with other diced cooked meats or go historical with some dried fish! Or skip the ham and eggs for a vegetarian soup; the kvass version is vegan if you omit the meat, eggs and sour cream.

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