Cold Summer Soup

SCRAPS #15: a cold, refreshing, Eastern European summer soup

If you’re looking for delicious ways to cool off this summer, add this Eastern European recipe to your list: it’s super refreshing, it comes together in no time and there’s barely any cooking involved. If that doesn’t meet all your summer recipe requirements, I don’t know what will!

Lithuanians call it “Šaltibarščiai”, the Polish call it “Chłodnik”, and I grew up simply calling it “cold beet soup” in Romanian. This beautifully colored cold soup is a mixture of beets, pickles, sometimes cucumbers, herbs and a fermented dairy base, like yogurt, kefir or buttermilk. I’m sure at a first glance, all those ingredients mashed up together make no sense, but just bare with me, the final result is so worth it. The beets are essentially the body of this dish, they bring in lots of flavor and sweetness. Briny pickles come it to balance out the robustness and earthiness of the beets, adding bright, zingy, zesty undertones. And finally, the fermented dairy base is what brings all these previous ingredients together. The final dish is creamy, bright, and absolutely refreshing. Today I’m sharing with you my take on this classic:

RECIPE

Makes: 4 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 to 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 500 grams red beets (2 medium beets or 1 large), peeled

  • you can buy these precooked to save some time

• 1/4 cup pickle brine, plus more to taste

• 3 salty pickles, finely chopped or grated, about a handful

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 small bunch chives, thinly sliced, plus more for garnishing

• 1 handful dill, roughly chopped

• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

• 1 liter or 32 fl oz kefir

• Kosher salt and black pepper

• 10 minute hard-boiled eggs, for serving

• Yogurt, cream, buttermilk, kefir or extra-virgin olive oil for topping, optional

SUBSTITUTES FOR

• pickle brine: lemon juice, 1 part water + 1 part vinegar, olive brine;

• chives: scallions;

• kefir: buttermilk, yogurt mixed with milk until it reaches a buttermilk consistency.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. If you are working with store-bought cooked beets, skip this step: bring a pot of water to a boil. Cut the beets in half, add them to the pot. Boil over medium heat until fork tender, for about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. Coarsely grate the beets in a large serving bowl or pot. Add the pickles, garlic, pickle brine, lemon zest, a big pinch of salt, chives, dill, and kefir. Mix until combined. Taste and season with more salt or pickle brine.

3. Pour the soup in serving bowls, drizzle olive oil and kefir on top. Sprinkle chives and flaky salt, and finish with hard-boiled eggs on top. Store it in the fridge up to a few days.