Botvinya (Ботвинья (Botvinya))
Overview
Botvinya is a classic Russian cold soup made with kvass, the lightly sour fermented rye drink. Young beet tops, sorrel, spinach and sometimes nettles are boiled, chopped finely or rubbed through a sieve, and mixed into the cold kvass with grated horseradish, mustard, a little sugar and chopped cucumber, dill and spring onion. The soup is green, tart and very refreshing. It is traditionally served with slices of cold poached fish, such as sturgeon, salmon or pike-perch, and sometimes crayfish tails, placed on a separate plate or in the bowl, with small pieces of ice to keep it cold.
History
Botvinya was a favourite summer dish of Russian nobles and merchants in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when it was served with expensive sturgeon and salmon and appeared in the writings of Pushkin and other authors. Its name comes from botva, the leafy tops of root vegetables. It was eaten by ordinary people too, with cheaper fish or none, and it is now being rediscovered by chefs as a dish of old Russian cuisine.
Main ingredients
Kvass, beet greens, sorrel, spinach, poached fish, horseradish. The soup is built on kvass and is usually served cold. Diet: pescatarian; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · Spinach and greens soups · More soups from Russia
Recipe
Method
- 110 min
Poach the fish in salted water for 10 minutes, cool and slice.
- 25 min 2 min
Boil the beet greens for 5 minutes, add the sorrel and spinach for 2 minutes, drain and chop finely.
- 3
Mix the horseradish, mustard, sugar and salt with a little kvass, then stir in the rest.
- 4
Add the greens, cucumber, dill and spring onion and chill well.
- 5
Serve cold with the fish alongside and a few pieces of ice.
- ✓
Serve. About 50 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
