A Baltic summer: cold beet soup and its friends

On a hot day, few things refresh like a bowl of bright pink soup served ice cold. Cold beet soup is a much-loved summer dish around the Baltic Sea and in neighbouring regions, where it appears under different names and with small family variations. It needs no hot stove for the soup itself, and it makes a great lunch for guests.

The base recipe (serves four to six)

You need:

• 3 medium beets (about 500 g), or 400 g pre-cooked beets
• 1 litre kefir or buttermilk (plain yoghurt thinned with milk also works)
• 250 to 500 ml cold water or cold beet cooking water
• 2 small cucumbers
• 1 bunch green onions
• A good handful of fresh dill
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• Salt, a squeeze of lemon, optionally a spoonful of sour cream

Method:

1. Cook the beets. Scrub them and simmer in water for 40 to 60 minutes until a knife slips in easily. Or roast wrapped in foil at 200 degrees C for about an hour. Cool, peel (gloves help) and grate or cut into small matchsticks.
2. Mix the base. Stir the beets into the kefir. The colour turns an almost unreal pink within moments.
3. Thin it. Add cold water a little at a time until it pours like a thin cream soup.
4. Add crunch. Dice the cucumber and slice the green onions. Add most of them, and most of the dill, chopped.
5. Season. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. Chill for at least two hours. The flavours settle and the soup gets cooler.
6. Serve in bowls with halved eggs, a spoonful of sour cream and more dill on top.

It keeps for two days in the fridge. The colour deepens overnight and the vegetables soften, so add fresh cucumber just before serving.

The friends on the table

The soup is rarely served alone. The classic companion is boiled potatoes: small new potatoes, steaming hot, tossed with butter and dill. The contrast of hot and cold on the same table is the point. Spoon some of the soup into your bowl, then eat a potato alongside it.

Other good partners:

• Dark rye bread, sliced thin and buttered, with a little caraway if you have it.
• Cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese, with chives.
• Smoked fish or herring, which many people love alongside. Offer it on a separate plate.
• Radishes and pickles, for sharpness.
• Sliced boiled eggs and fresh tomatoes to round out a light lunch.

For a full table, pass everything at once and let people build their own plate.

Variations and substitutions

• Vegan: use unsweetened soy or coconut yoghurt thinned with water, plus lemon juice for tang. Skip the eggs.
• Lighter: half kefir, half cold water.
• Hot day shortcut: use vacuum-packed cooked beets. Read the label and avoid ones packed in vinegar, which changes the taste.
• Herbs: chives and parsley are good alongside dill.

What can go wrong

• Too sour: add more water, or a spoonful of sour cream to mellow it.
• Too thin: stir in extra grated beets or yoghurt.
• Faded colour: you added too much water or not enough beets. Add a grated cooked beet.
• Stained hands and board: beet juice sticks. Use a plate or board you do not mind staining, and rub fingers with lemon juice.
• Warm guests, warm soup: chill the bowls too.

Beet soup is safe for most people, but it can make urine or stool pink or red for a day. That is harmless, though it startles those who do not expect it.

A host’s note

Serve the soup in glass bowls or clear glasses if you have them. The colour does half the decorating for you. Put the hot potatoes in a covered dish on the table so they stay warm.

For more regional recipes, visit our Around the World section.

This article is general cooking and food-safety information, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.