Saltibarsciai
Traditional Lithuanian cuisine includes this delicious, chilly beetroot soup. A creamy mixture of pickled or boiled beets and sour kefir or buttermilk is poured over grated cucumbers and hard-boiled eggs. The entire soup is liberally seasoned with dill and is typically permitted to set until all of the tastes are well blended. It's typically made in the summer and is best served chilled, especially with potatoes on the side. It is suitable as an appetizer or a light main meal.
Ingredients:
200 g | 7 oz boiled & cooled beetroot (about 2 medium beets),100 g | 3.5 oz cucumber (about 2 large pickling cucumbers, either fresh or pickled,6 spring onions or 10 green onion leaves,2 hard-boiled eggs,1.5 liters | 3 pints kefir (or 500 ml | 1-pint thick natural yogurt and 1 liter | 2 pints buttermilk),Bunch fresh dill,Juice of ½ a lemon (optional),Salt to taste,200 g | 7 oz potatoes
Instructions:
- Peel the potatoes and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Place in a saucepan of boiling water, add a good pinch of salt, and boil until a knife can easily pierce the flesh.
- While the potatoes are boiling, assemble the soup.
- Slice the beetroot & gherkins into fine julienne.
- Chop the eggs into small dice.
- Chop the scallions or onions leaves into 1 cm (½ inch) pieces.
- Finely chop the dill.
- Pour the kefir into a large bowl or saucepan and add the chopped ingredients and half of the lemon juice, holding back some of the dills for garnish.
- Taste and season salt and additional lemon juice as required.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the remaining dill.
- Serve the potatoes on a side plate so that they do not heat the soup.
