Lithuanian Cold Beet Soup - Šaltibarš?iai

Submitted by duonyte

"There are many variations of this traditional Lithuanian dish. My version is our mother's version. I don't think there is anything better on a hot summer day - in fact, I made it today, because we are having a heat wave, and I don't really want much to eat. The cook time is refrigeration time."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 3

ingredients

• 1 cup julienned cooked beets
• 1 cup chopped cucumber (seedless preferred)
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 3 -4 finely chopped radishes (optional)
• 1 quart buttermilk (whole milk preferred) or 1 quart kefir (whole milk preferred)
• 2 -4 tablespoons sour cream (optional)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 2 harboiled eggs, chopped (optional)
• additional fresh dill (to garnish)
• hot boiled potatoes

directions

1. Note on ingredients; You can use fresh or canned beets. If using canned, make sure they are plain, not spiced. If using fresh, you can roast or boil. If boiling, save some of the cooking liquid. Seedless or the small pickling cucumbers worked best. If using the larger standard cucumbers, peel and seed them for best results. Buttermilk (pasukos) was traditional, but some time during the Soviet years, kefir became popular and it works really well. But we always used buttermilk, and my grandmothers, both farmers, would have used buttermilk from their own cows. If you cannot find whole milk buttermilk or kefir, add some sour cream to create the right taste. Mother always did this. Also, you can add more beets or cucumbers, if you like - I don't usually measure, but I did this time just to have a starting point.
2. Combine the beets, cucumber, scallion, dill, and radish, if using, in a medium bowl. Add sour cream to buttermilk or kefir if you need to and add to the bowl. Taste and add salt as desired - buttermilks vary in how much sodium they contain. (If you boiled the beets and saved some cooking liquid or used canned, you can add some to make the soup more vivid. If you roasted beets, the color will intensify while the soup is refrigerated).
3. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or up to overnight.
4. Add chopped egg, if desired, to each serving, as well as a fresh sprinkle of chopped dill.
5. Serve with hot boiled potatoes. Some people like to plop their potatoes into the šaltibarš?iai - I don't, as I think it warms up the soup and the contrast between hot and cold is delightful.

Reviews

[ForeverMama]

Lovely soup, both in looks and in flavor! A very different soup, but each ingredient comes through beautifully. I let it sit in the fridge for a night. Used low-fat buttermilk, because that’s all they carry around here, therefore added some sour cream to compensate. I didn’t wind up using eggs at first because I was all out, but picked some up later and had it with the leftover soup…YUM.. Also, left out the potato to save on some carbs. Great soup for summer, especially. Thank you, duonyte, for sharing this family recipe. Made it for Beach Party - summer tag game.

 

[Jostlori]

Wowee, this was SO GOOD! I made this with buttermilk, exactly as written. The only change I would make is to only use one or two scallions. Otherwise sheer perfection! DH loved it, too. We followed your suggestion and served the hot potatoes on the side. This could easily be a dinner in itself with a nice slab of crusty bread. I especially loved the color of the soup - I forgot to save the beet water, but the buttermilk turned a deeper pink after a couple of hours in the fridge. We'll definitely be making this again, especially in our hot Florida summers. I'm learning that I LOVE Lithuanian food - all your recipes have been great!