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Botvinia (Green Vegetable Soup with Fish)

Botvinia (Green Vegetable Soup with Fish) is a traditional Russian recipe for a classic chilled soup of spinach and sorrel leaves with fish and crab meat in a beer and vodka stock. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Russian version of: Green Vegetable Soup with Fish (Botvinia).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Additional Time:

(+8 hours chilling)

Serves:

6

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Vegetable RecipesMilk RecipesRussia Recipes


Ingredients:

1 large cucumber, peeled, halved lengthways, de-seeded and diced
675g fresh spinach leaves, washed
6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
675g fresh sorrel leaves
3 tbsp fresh horseradish root, grated
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
225g crab meat
675g poached sturgeon, in 1 piece (or 675g firm white fish, poached, in 1 piece)
140g spring onions, sliced
4 tbsp onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
60ml vodka
1.5l beer
240ml plain yoghurt

Method:

Bring 3l of water to a boil in a large saucepan. As soon as it comes to a brisk boil add the spinach and sorrel. Cook, uncovered, at a brisk boil for about 7 minutes, or until tender then drain in a colander. Refresh the greens under plenty of cold running water then transfer to a blender and purée until smooth.

Set aside to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, flake the fish and crab then combine with all the other ingredients (except the beer and vodka) in a bowl. Stir in the greens purée and mix thoroughly. Now add the beer and vodka, stirring constantly. Cover the bowl with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill for at least 2 hours before dividing between 8 chilled soup bowls and serving.