Season’s Eatings is back from a two-week hiatus while its author was traveling for work and pleasure. I find that the souvenirs I value most are recipes (or inspirations) for dishes that I can recreate at home to conjure up taste memories of a place again and again. This week’s dish replicates the summer soup I tasted first in Kazakhstan, at a hotel lunch buffet, and a week later in Kyrgyzstan, dining next to a rushing river in the Tian Shan Mountains while horses grazed on the opposite bank.

The soup’s name comes from the Russian word kroshit, meaning “to chop finely,” which is what you’ll be doing to the vegetables that go into it. Russian dishes gained popularity throughout the Soviet Union while it existed, and this one can be found on summer menus across the former USSR. Often, a tangy beverage called kvas made from fermented rye bread is used for the broth instead of yogurt, but this creamy version is more popular in the ‘Stans, where fermented milk products have long formed a cornerstone of the local diet. It’s a light and refreshing antidote to the oppressive summer heat, no matter what hemisphere you’re in.

Okroshka (Cold Yogurt Soup)
Serves 4

3 cups plain yogurt or kefir
1 cup cold chicken broth or water
4 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped into ¼-inch dice
2 medium waxy new potatoes, peeled, boiled until tender, and chopped into ¼-inch dice
1 medium Persian cucumber or half of one American or English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped into ¼-inch dice
4 medium radishes, chopped into ¼-inch dice
2-3 scallions, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh mint or flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and put in the refrigerator to chill and allow flavors to meld for at least an hour or overnight. If desired, you can chill the soup additionally immediately before serving by adding ice cubes.