Chilled Beetroot Soup

Chilled Beetroot Soup with a scoop of Greek yogurt is the perfect refreshing meal on a sweltering summer day.

It’s Summer. SOS!

Indeed, how are you doing this incredibly hot summer? Have you managed to survive? What is your secret? Tons of water? Lemonade? Ice cream and sorbet? Or maybe it’s something like this Chilled Beetroot Soup?

It has gotten a little fresher recently, but it’s still around and above 30C in here which is not comfortable enough for me. I mean, I am not craving for any hot meals right now. Light and refreshing things like a salad or bruschetta are a perfect choice now. And ice cream, a lot of ice cream.

A few weeks back, when the humidex reached 40C many days in a row, I was able to eat only cold soups. Particularly, I was making and having this Chilled Beetroot Soup two weeks in a row.

Chilled Beetroot Soup is a really great thing when you need to shield from unbearable heat. Delicious, nutritious, and so refreshing – everything you can dream of.

Chilled Beetroot Soup

Chilled Beetroot Soup is quite a ubiquitous dish in some Eastern European countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and some others. But it’s not the same like the well-known borscht. If you are not a fan of pureed soup, that’s not necessary to whizz it up in the blender – beet chunks mixed with other veggies are so good. Talking about veggies, feel free to add those you like. The most traditional are crunchy and fresh cucumbers and radishes as well as fresh herbs such as dill or chives. Sure we don’t want to starve to death so let’s add some proteins – eggs. And do not forget a good dollop of fresh sour cream or better high in proteins fat-free Greek yogurt.

If you are making a pureed version of this Chilled Beetroot Soup, you can roast beets first, for intense color and richer flavor. But when it’s hot it’s totally fine to avoid turning your oven. And the last thing is acidity which prevents beets from losing their vibrant color and also makes the soup more refreshing. The contrast of sweet beets and delicate acidity works great in summer soups. But you’re encouraged to adjust tartness and sweetness to your taste by adding more lemon juice or/and some sweeteners (a few drops of maple syrup or honey or a pinch of sugar). And yes, I felt like adding a drizzle of balsamic, and this worked too.

And the best news about this Chilled Beetroot Soup is the longer it stays in your fridge (you can safely keep it up to 5 days), the more delicious it is getting.

What’s your favorite food during hot days? Do you like chilled soups?

Chilled Beetroot Soup

August 6, 2016

by Ben | Havocinthekitchen

Category Chilled Soup Soup

Chilled Beetroot Soup served with crunchy cucumbers, radishes, fresh herbs, hard-boiled eggs and Greek yogurt or sour cream.

Persons

5

Notes

It's absolutely fine to keep the Chilled Beetroot Soup refrigerated for up to 5 days. If so, I recommend not to add the veggies, herbs, and eggs at once but just before serving (hard-boiled eggs would be safe in the fridge for a few days too). That's why I provided the ingredients to serve the soup enough for 1-2 serving.
havocinthekitchen.com

Ingredients

Soup (5-7 servings):

• 1,5 pounds beets (4-5 medium), peeled
• 1000 ml cold water (or enough to cover the beets) + more water later on
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon balsamic (optional)
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar or to taste
• salt to taste

To serve (1-2 servings)*:

• 1 small cucumber, peeled and finely diced
• 4-5 radishes, finely diced
• fresh dill or/and chives, chopped
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, cooled, peeled, and cut in few parts
• sour cream or Greek yogurt

Instructions

• Dice or grate the beetroot and put in a large pan. Add the lemon juice and cover with 1000 ml cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes.
• Add the sugar and salt and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the beets have softened. Try and add more salt/lemon/sugar to adjust. Add the balsamic if desired.
• Off heat. Completely cool. At this point you can puree the soup with a blender or leave it as is. Also, you may need to add some more water (1-2 cups bottle water) to reach the needed consistency. Place in the fridge to chill for at least few hours.
• When serving the soup, add the fresh veggies, herbs, eggs, and sour cream or yogurt.
• Enjoy!

Tags

Beetroots