Chłodnik means coolant and it is a refreshing start to a meal in summer.
This classic version is usually make with botwiny for which I cannot find a good translation into English.
Botwiny are young beetroots with the stalks and some leaves still attached. In Poland you can buy bunches of these for sale or you can pick them early from your garden or allotment. Here in England I have not see them for sale so if you want them you will have to grow them for yourself.
If you do have some you use all the parts – the roots, stalks and the leaves otherwise you just use cooked beetroot.
The classic version uses soured milk but unless you have access to this then Greek style natural yoghurt or soured cream and lemon juice are good alternatives.
I use beetroot concentrate which is convenient and very tasty.
1 tablespoon of beetroot concentrate to 250ml of yoghurt is a good proportion.
Ingredients
250g of cooked beetroots
3-4 gherkins
Spring onion – green parts or chives
500ml of yoghurt or 300ml soured cream
2 tablespoons of beetroot concentrate
Handful of dill
Lemon juice and gherkin liquor and cold water
Salt & Pepper & Sugar to taste
*
Hard boiled eggs to serve – ½ egg per person
Method
Chop the beetroot into small cubes.
Chop the gherkins into small cubes.
Chop the spring onions or chives into small pieces.
Chop the dill into small pieces.
Mix the yoghurt or soured cream & lemon juice with the beetroot concentrate.
Thin this down with lemon juice, gherkin liquor & water to suit.
Add the chopped beetroots, gherkins, dill and spring onions or chives.
Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Chill in the fridge for several hours.
*
Serve with quarters of hard boiled eggs and a sprinkle of chives or dill.
Served in Carnation by Royal Doulton – 1982 – 1998
Having written several posts recently with different ideas for breakfasts, I started to think about how to use some of these ingredients such as smoked bacon & eggs in salads.
Version 1 with lemon juice
Ingredients
1 iceberg lettuce
1 cucumber
4 hard boiled eggs
250g smoked bacon
Lemon juice
Chives to garnish
Salt & pepper to taste
Method
Cut the lettuce into shreds with a sharp knife.
Peel the cucumber or part peel in stripes lengthwise.
Chop the cucumber into small pieces.
Chop up the hard boiled eggs into small pieces.
Chop up the bacon into small squares and fry without extra oil until all the fat has come out.
Use kitchen roll to soak up the excess fat and leave to cool completely.
Mix all the ingredients together
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Add the lemon juice and stir.
Add chopped chives to serve.
Version 2 with soured cream
1 iceberg lettuce
1 cucumber
4 hard boiled eggs
250g smoked bacon
Lemon juice
2 -3 tablespoons of soured cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Chives to garnish
Method
As version 1 with the addition of the soured cream at the end.
Version 3 with tomatoes
1 iceberg lettuce
1 cucumber
4 hard boiled eggs
250g smoked bacon
20 cherry tomatoes
Lemon juice
Chives to garnish
Salt & pepper to taste
Method
As version 1 with the addition of the chopped cherry tomatoes.
The tomato is botanically the fruit of Solanum lycopersicum, although from a culinary point of view it is a vegetable.
It belongs to the deadly nightshade family as does the potato.
The tomato plant originated in the Andes in South America and tomatl was the name in the Nahuatl language give to it by the Aztec people, which then became tomate and then tomato in English.
The tomato was brought over to Europe by the Conquistadors in the late 15th Century.
The original fruits were yellow hence the Italian name pomodoro (pomo d’oro – apple of gold).
When the Italian princess, who became Queen Bona of Poland on her marriage to King Zygmunt the Old, came to Poland with her chefs in the 16th Century , the tomato was introduced to the Polish diet.
Tomato in Polish is pomidor – so you can see or rather hear its Italian root.
Home grown tomatoes are of course the best, however here in the North of England I have not had much success in growing them outdoors.
To get the best flavour from tomatoes it is best NOT to keep them in the refrigerator.
Keep your tomatoes at room temperature
A simple tomato salad is served in Poland, always it seemed to me with the addition of onions, chives or the green part of spring onion. For many it is standard fare for breakfast with cold meats or Polish curd cheese.
Ingredients
Tomatoes – thinly sliced into whole rounds if small or halved if large.
Half an onion – finely chopped or
Chives or the green part of spring onions – finely chopped
Twaróg – Polish Curd Cheese is used extensively in cooking and finds its way in many guises onto the Polish menu, especially at home, both in sweet and savoury dishes.
The following are what I consider to be popular classic savoury fresh cheese mixtures and are often served for breakfast with bread and salad.
Here in England I think they could be served at lunchtime. As well as with bread and rolls they can be served with crisp-breads, oatcakes or crackers.
3 Classic Curd Cheese Mixtures
You can make these with Twaróg – Curd Cheese or with Cream Cheese.
You can also use yoghurt cheese – (Look out for a post on how to make this later).
The amounts used are just approximate, using one packet of cheese, which is normally around 200g – 300g, for each mixture and can be varied to taste.
If using curd cheese, add a pinch or two of salt and a couple of spoonfuls of soured cream, mix together until smooth.
If using cream cheese just take it out of the packet and mix it in a bowl – you can add a spoonful or two of soured cream to make it a softer consistency if you wish.
Mixture 1
To the cheese add a few tablespoons of finely chopped chives or the green parts of spring onions.
In Poland szczypiorek (which in dictionaries is given as chives) would be used – however I think it is slightly different and is much larger than the chives I grow here in England.
Chives Growing in a Pot
Spring Onions and Chives
Curd Cheese and Chives
Mixture 2
To the cheese add a couple of teaspoons of caraway seeds
Curd Cheese and Caraway Seeds
Mixture 3
To the cheese add some chopped gherkins
I find these are the best gherkins to use as they are not vinegary.
Chopped Gherkins
Curd Cheese and Gherkins
Typical Polish Breakfast Fare
These cheese mixtures can also be served with bliny -little buckwheat pancakes. (Look out for a a post on how to make these later).
Journey From A Polish Kitchen 