Cold Beet Soup Recipes

BEET GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Place beets in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer until fork tender all the way through, about 60-90 minutes. Rinse with cold water.
• Once beets are cold, slip off their skins using your hands. Slice and place 3 of the 4 beets (saving one) in a blender with 2 cups cold water, or cold veggie stock). Add half of the chopped onion (about ⅛ cup) , 2 garlic cloves, 2 sliced Turkish cucumbers (saving one) salt, pepper, vinegar and about ⅔ of the fresh dill ( saving some for garnish). Blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• Prep the garnishes. Finely dice the remaining beet, cucumber, avocado and chop the remaining dill. Pour chilled beet soup (the colder it is, the better) into bowls. Top with the garnishes. Drizzle with a little olive oil or a swirl of yogurt or sour cream if you like. Serve immediately!

COLD BEET SOUP - SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• In a pot, add the beets, cucumbers, kefir and water. Add the dill, and stir. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice if required. Refrigerate for few hours.
• Serve the soup in a bowl with some quartered or chopped boiled egg. Don't add eggs to the pot, because they will soak up the pink color. Sprinkle the scallions on top. Enjoy!

LITHUANIAN SALTIBARSCIAI (COLD BEET SOUP)

Steps:

• Place the eggs into a saucepan in a single layer and cover the eggs with water by 1 inch. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes; drain. Cool the eggs under cold running water in the sink. Peel and chop the eggs.
• Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl; add the eggs, beets, cucumber, chives, and dill. Stir gently to combine. Chill in refrigerator for 1 full day before serving.

CREAMY ROASTED BEET SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan set over moderate heat cook beets and onion in butter, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add broth, thyme, bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste and simmer soup, covered, for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree, in batches if necessary, until smooth. Return soup to saucepan, stir in cream and vinegar and bring soup to a simmer, stirring, until heated through. Garnish each serving with cream and dill, if desired.;

NINA'S RUSSIAN COLD BEET SOUP (KHOLDNYK)

Steps:

• Mix the buttermilk, cucumber, beets with their juice, green onions, dill, salt, and vinegar in a bowl; stir to mix thoroughly, and chill, covered, in refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight for best flavor. Serve cold.

COLD BEET AND CUCUMBER SOUP

Steps:

• Cook beets in large pot of boiling water until very tender and knife pierces through to the center easily, about 50 minutes. Drain beets; cool slightly. Peel and coarsely chop.
• Transfer beets, scallions, cucumbers, horseradish, and wine vinegar to food processor. Add some of the liquids to blend. Puree, but not too fine. Thin to desired consistency with beet juice and broth. Transfer to bowl, season, and chill several hours. Check seasoning before serving. Pour into individual bowls and garnish with spoonful of sour cream and sprinkling of dill. Can be made up to 3 days in advance, covered, chilled.

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the beets in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook uncovered until the beets are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the beets to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and also set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid, the chicken stock, sour cream, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper. Peel the cooled beets with a small paring knife or rub the skins off with your hands. Cut the beets in small to medium dice. Add the beets, cucumber, scallions, and dill to the soup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Season, to taste, and serve cold with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprig of fresh dill.

COLD BEET SOUP FOR SUMMER

Steps:

• Drain beets, reserving liquid.If using whole or sliced beets, slice into matchstick pieces.Peel and dice cucumber. (I like fairly large dice.).
• Hold back about 3/4 cup of julianned beets in a seperate bowl.Add remaining beets and chopped cucumber to a large bowl. Add reserved beet juice,14 oz. of water and 2 tablespoons vinegar.
• Stir about 1/2 cup of sour cream into the beets you held in the seperate bowl.(this process keeps the sour cream from "breaking up" in the soup and making lumps.)Stir until the sour cream/beet mixture is smooth. Add another 1/2 cup of sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the beet juice from the large bowl and stir until smooth.Stir in the last 1/2 cup of sour cream. Mixture should be without lumps (sour cream should be liqified.)This seems complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it goes quite quickly.
• Add the beet/sourcream mix to the large bowl and stir to combine. At this point, taste to see if the level of vinegar is to your liking, if not add a little more.
• Add the dried dill. The 2 tsp is a good place to start, but I usually add more.
• Cover and chill at least 2 hours.Serve in chilled bowls. My mom adds chopped hard boiled eggs to this soup, so if you want to give that a try it's up to you,.

CHILLED BEET SOUP WITH BUTTERMILK, CUCUMBERS, AND DILL (CHLODNIK)

Steps:

• Using a large knife, separate greens and stems from beets. Thoroughly wash greens and stems; set aside. Scrub beets, transfer to a medium pot, and cover with 1" water. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, uncover, and cook until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. Drain beets; discard cooking liquid. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, chop beet greens and stems. Transfer to a large pot and add 1/2 tsp. salt and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, without boiling, until greens are tender, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Peel and coarsely grate beets, preferably wearing gloves. Add to pot with cooled greens. Gently stir in cucumbers, pickle, pickle brine, buttermilk, sour cream, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover pot and chill soup at least 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings, if desired. Divide soup among bowls; top with eggs and dill.
• Do Ahead
• Soup can be made 2 days ahead; cover and chill.