With the heat wave upon us, and many more expected in the coming months, the idea of hot kitchens and heavy meals doesn’t resonate with family chefs and their “clients.”
That’s where these nutritious, delicious, and super-easy recipes come in. There is nothing like a bowl of nourishing yet refreshing cold soup to please your family on a hot day.
Serve these with some whole wheat or rye bread and a plate of fresh fruit for dessert and you’ve got a complete meal in less than 20 minutes.
The word “okroshka” comes from the Russian word for a crumb. The soup is made of finely chopped vegetables combine with a liquid, either kvass (a fermented bread drink) or kefir (buttermilk). Kvass is available at most Russian food stores, but you can also use more familiar ingredients, such as diluted plain yogurt.
Borscht is a familiar comfort soup to any person with even the faintest of Eastern European roots. Borscht comes in both hot and cold varieties. Here is my mother’s signature recipe of the cold summer borscht. It is infinitely better than anything you can buy in a jar.
Unlike the above recipes, gazpacho originated in Spain. Although I started making it only a few years ago, it is immensely popular with my kids. Talk about a melting pot.