For several years in a row, during long journeys, I began to notice the previously unimaginable: road travelers took full-size glaciers with them.
And if earlier, in the heat, even hard cheeses “spread” in a few days, not to mention perishable goods, now working an hour from a diesel generator is enough to keep them frozen for a whole day at any temperature. . And the second observation. In some small towns, huge trailers with sweet, frothy, natural kvass appeared on the streets again. They fill it, however, not in the same way as before, in three-liter jars, but in plastic bottles of any size. So why not make a good old-fashioned cookie cutter on a hot day that is rarely remembered? And the dish is prepared very quickly, it is very simple, it does not require cunning skills. I think that the travelers avoided making okroshka because of the lack of kvass in the refrigerator. They are too lazy to make it themselves, only its creators can call it store-bought kvass.
However, you still have to go to the grocery store. In any of them, already cleaned frozen, so-called cocktail shrimp are sold. Or they are not so traditional, but they are a very tasty main ingredient suitable for jeep okroshka. No need to cut, melt or somehow overcook, pour into a plate, և end.
Basic principles of making OKROSHKA
Dishes are more tolerant of the proportions of the ingredients in the recipe than okroshka, I do not know. Probably just salads. Although, in fact, okroshka is a salad filled only with kvass or sour cream. And even kvass is not required. Almost any sour drink is suitable. There are such cold soups in the culinary traditions of many peoples: holodnik, jelly soup, botvinia, gazpacho, etc. Kefir, cottage cheese, widow, whey, beetroot, sorrel broth, cabbage and tomato juice are used. But we are even more accustomed to the dark, sparkling sweet kvass. And even when okroshka in some particularly patriotic recipes recommend the so-called “real Russian” white kvass, ie cloudy fermentation on rye bread or flour, which, by the way, is very difficult to prepare, they still recommend adding a little sugar – already a painful acid. Although in the heat, in the presence of an effective refrigerator, there will be some acids, it is worth squeezing a little lemon in a sweet kvass. Moreover, okroshka will become more interesting և, of course, more original if you use white table wine, which is very chilled ն diluted with a little water (even from a bag suitable for soup). Especially if it comes directly from Italy, France or Spain. Even better, cruel champagne. It will be a little hoop, but very tasty. Children and drivers, of course, will have to refrain from it.
As for the other ingredients, there are some without which okroshka can not be considered as such: fresh cucumbers, potatoes cooked in a mandatory uniform, green onions, mustard and hard-boiled eggs. Everything else is a variation of the theme. Suitable meat, sausage, sausages, any fish և even squid. Elena Molokhovets, the author of the famous book of recipes of the 19th century, calls the dish “Lent okroshka of different varieties.” But peeled, frozen prawns are great for camping.
DRINKS
Extra drinks, I think, are not appropriate here. Even kvass contains a certain amount of alcohol (about 1%), not to mention wine or champagne. It will be the right thing to do, which I almost always do myself, I add more cold kvass to the plate when eating.
ADVICES
Please note that cold soups require about twice as much pepper and other spices as hot ones.
METHOD OF PREPARATION OF FIELD OKROSHKA
Boil the well-washed potatoes in the peel for 25 minutes. Then we freeze, for example, in a nearby clean reservoir. Eggs are needed boiled, but they can be prepared in advance.
The second possible step is to chop the green onion, parsley and dill, add the mustard and salt and carefully rub them in a wooden chopped bowl together with the egg yolks, turning everything into a homogeneous mass. Well, then cut all the other ingredients into small cubes, pouring them into the same bowl.
From a culinary point of view, this dish is quite rough, as no skill is required. Just remember that all the ingredients must be extremely cold. In many classic Russian cold soup recipes, it was even recommended to put a few pieces of ice on the plates. In our country, frozen shrimp will play this role. Put the latter in a bowl. Okroshka is ready. Bon Appetit!
Text by Pavel Razin