Soups and Broths · Card SO13
Chilled Pink Beet Soup
Known in Lithuania as saltibarsciai, this startlingly pink cold soup is tangy kefir stirred with grated beets, cucumber and heaps of dill. It is creamy, sour, crunchy and cooling all at once. Serve it with hot boiled potatoes on the side, which is the whole point.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Cuisine
- Lithuanian
Method
Step 1: Put the beets in a pot, cover with cold water, and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain, cool until easy to handle, and slip off the skins with your fingers.
Step 2: Grate two of the beets coarsely and cut the other two into small dice. Set the diced beets aside for topping.
Step 3: In a large bowl, stir the grated beets into the kefir along with a pinch of salt. The kefir will turn a vivid, almost neon pink within seconds.
Step 4: Add the cucumber, scallions and most of the dill. If your kefir is mild, add lemon juice until the soup tastes pleasantly sour. Season with salt.
Step 5: Chill for at least 1 hour so the flavors meld and the soup gets properly cold. Boil the potatoes in salted water shortly before serving.
Step 6: Ladle into bowls and pile the diced beets and remaining dill in the center, adding chopped egg if using. Serve with the steaming potatoes on a separate plate.
Kitchen note
The contrast is intentional: a bite of hot, buttery potato followed by a spoonful of icy soup is how this is eaten, so do not skip the potatoes or chill them.
Easy swap
Thin 3 cups plain yogurt with 1 cup cold water and a squeeze of lemon if kefir is unavailable.
Filed nearby
See the whole volume
