Akroshka or Chlodnik (East European cold soup)

акрошка

Main ingredients:

1 english cucumber
2 medium-large potatoes, boiled in skin and cleaned
4 eggs hard boiled
1 can of green peas
2 bunches of green onion (8 stems)
a small bunch of fresh dill
1L jar of organic 3.8% fat keffir or container of sour cream
medium or firm tofu (optional for extra protein)
1.5L of boiled and cooled water
lime or lemon juice

Directions:

1. Cut all the ingredients into small chuncks
2. Put potatoes, cucumber, eggs, can of green peas, dill, green onion, and tofu into big pot
3. Add about 1L of boiled, cooled water
4. Add 1L of keffir OR a 1/2 or full container of fatty sour cream
5. Add 1tbsp of lime or lemon juice
6. Add salt to taste
7. Add more water and keffir as needed, and stir well
8. Cool in the fridge

Notes:

The soup should be filling, so don't make it too liquidy. If it's too watery, add keffir, salt, and more lime juice. Some acidity is key. In my family, we always added a spoon or two of mayo, but this is not necessary. You can eat the soup as soon as it's chilled, but if you can, let it stand for an hour.

Red variety:

This soup can also be made by using some barsht (beet soup) as a base. You can buy barsht or beet juice in stores or you can quickly boil beets in some water with onion and carrot to make a basic stock. Beet akroshka has a very different taste. You should try it.