Šaltibarščiai: Lithuanian chilled beetroot soup

My dad worked in a greenhouse plant and I remember very well the days when the first fresh cucumbers started growing in the second half of February. Such a fresh smell, immediately announced that summer is coming! And we always, always made cold bars from that first cucumber, and that way we could feel the taste of summer even in February.

Although you don’t have to wait for fresh cucumbers or fresh onions with dill now, the frostbites wait for the summer and then they don’t get bored until the cooler weather.

At first glance, this is such a simple dish, but every home prepares it in its own way.

Ingredients

Kefir. I make cold bars from simple, 2.5% fat kefir. A 500 g jar is enough for two diners (the ones more reminiscent of the Lithuanian \”large\” sour cream pack are sold in Tenerife). In Lithuanian stores, kefir is usually poured into 900 g or 1 kg packages, the same for a larger family. I know others dilute the frosting with milk or boiled water, but it’s too watery for me. And with that fat, thick kefir from the stilts, it’s too thick. In other words, the simplest 2.5% is the same.

Beets. Beets can be cooked at home, cooked with purchased ones, or pickled. There is a wide selection of pickled goods in Lithuanian shops, grated – marinated with vinegar, grated – marinated in apple juice, finely cut into juliennes. Elsewhere, the customs are different, at least I didn’t see any pickled in apple juice. To me, these are the tastiest, and here is the second half, which requires cooking from boiled beets, I don’t like the acid of the marinade. By the way, before there was an abundance of preparations, fresh, green beets were sometimes grated and those grated were quickly boiled in a small amount of water. Salted beets with boiled beets have a beautiful soft pink color, and marinating them gives them a brighter red.

Cucumbers. It goes without saying that short fruits picked directly from the bed are the tastiest. Then, crisp, fresh short fruits, and finally – long fruits. Peeling or not depends on the thickness of the skin. If it is thick, peel it. There are fewer discussions on how to cut, only cubes.

Onions. Fresh leaves, as thin as possible and thinly sliced. If you don’t have onions, you can get away with leeks.

Dill. It just has to be fresh. It’s not quite chilly without dill. And no, neither drying nor freezing can change that freshness. A few years ago we used to sit in a pot, and now, apparently realizing that the demography of the island is changing, the store added dill eneld to the assortment.

Eggs. Hard boiled. For me, it is tastier and more beautiful to cut into two or four parts and put it as a decoration at the very end. My mother used to cut a few eggs into small pieces and mix them into the cold drinks. Here’s how someone likes it more.

We make chilled beetroot soup

So, two diners will need

For chilled beetroot soup

1-2 eggs

0.5 l of kefir

200 g of boiled, peeled beetroot

1 medium short-fruited cucumber

20 g of fresh onion leaves

20 g of fresh dill

For potatoes

Potatoes, count 1 average size per person.

20 g of butter to season the potatoes

A pinch of dill and onion

First, heat the pot for the potatoes. I boil potatoes and eggs at the same time. I put shaved, cut potatoes in cold, salted water and boil. At the same time, I add well-washed eggs. I scoop out the eggs after 10 minutes and run them under cold water to cool; I boil the potatoes until they become soft. I drain the boiled potatoes well, heat them until all the water evaporates, then add butter and wait until the butter melts and caramelizes a little. I add the herbs and give everything a light shake in the covered pot to mix well.

Pour well-shaken kefir into a suitable-sized container, I immediately use the one in which I serve it.

I add beets grated with a large beet grater.

I add diced cucumbers, finely chopped onion leaves and dill.

I mix everything carefully and add salt and serve immediately. Pour into plates, add half a hard-boiled egg and eat with potatoes.

The fresher the frosting is, the tastier it is.

Delicious!