Botvinya with lightly salted trout
6 servings
60 minutes
Botvinya with lightly salted trout is a refreshing and nutritious dish of Russian cuisine that embodies summer freshness. Its history dates back centuries when this cold soup was popular among peasants and nobility. The base consists of pickled beets with greens, sorrel, and spinach, giving the soup a characteristic tang and rich green color. The light saltiness of the trout perfectly complements the vegetable composition, creating a rich flavor balance. Botvinya is served chilled with crunchy cucumbers, radishes, and herbs, as well as boiled eggs, making it particularly nutritious. Adding sour cream gives softness and roundness to the taste. This dish refreshes on a hot day and is an excellent choice for a light summer lunch, allowing one to enjoy the natural flavors of seasonal ingredients.
1
Wash the beetroot with the greens well. Cut off the greens and set aside. Peel the beetroot and grate it on a Korean salad grater or cut it into thin strips.
- Young beetroot with tops: 3 pieces
2
Salt the beet a little, add vinegar, mix, and place under a weight for at least an hour.
- Salt: to taste
- Apple cider vinegar: 3 tablespoons
3
While the beets are marinating, chop the stems. Finely chop the greens separately. Place them in different containers.
- Young beetroot with tops: 3 pieces
4
Boil a liter of water. Wash the spinach, add it to the boiling water for a minute, remove with a slotted spoon, let the water drain. Cool and chop.
- Spinach: 200 g
5
Boil the water again. Wash the sorrel, put it in boiling water for a minute, take it out with a slotted spoon, and let the water drain. Cool down and blend until pureed.
- Sorrel: 200 g
6
Boil 3-4 liters of water in a large pot (depending on the volume of the resulting base ingredients).
7
Add pickled beetroot with its juice to boiling water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 3 minutes.
- Young beetroot with tops: 3 pieces
8
Then add the chopped stems of the greens, bring to a boil again, reduce the heat and cook for 3 minutes; then add the leaves, bring to a boil again, and cook for 3 minutes.
- Young beetroot with tops: 3 pieces
9
Add sorrel and spinach, mix, turn off the heat.
- Sorrel: 200 g
- Spinach: 200 g
10
Now you need to cool the base as quickly as possible. Plug the sink, fill it with cold water, add ice, and place the pot in the water. When it cools to room temperature, check for salt and move the pot to the fridge.
- Salt: to taste
11
Wash all vegetables and greens. Boil the eggs hard. Remove the bones from the fish and cut into pieces (for festive presentation, roll into roses).
- Chicken egg: 6 pieces
- Lightly salted trout: 300 g
12
Chop cucumbers, radishes, and greens as you like. Cut the eggs in half.
- Cucumbers: 3 pieces
- Radish: 1 bunch
- Green onions: 1 bunch
- Dill: 1 bunch
- Chicken egg: 6 pieces
13
Pour broth into a bowl, add cucumbers and radishes to taste, an egg, fish, and herbs. Add pepper. Add sour cream to taste.
- Cucumbers: 3 pieces
- Radish: 1 bunch
- Chicken egg: 6 pieces
- Lightly salted trout: 300 g
- Dill: 1 bunch
- Ground black pepper: to taste
- Sour cream: to taste
14