Lithuanian Cold Borscht

Ingredients

• 2-3 fresh or pickled beets
• 1-2 per serving potatoes
• 1-2 per serving cucumbers
• dill
• parsley
• chives
• 1 per serving egg
• 150-300 ml per serving kefir
• 1 tbsp per serving sour cream
• radish
• 1 lemon

Method

Cook the beetroots in cold salted water — start them in the pot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a steady simmer. Small beets take 25–35 minutes; larger ones need up to an hour. They're ready when a knife slides through with no resistance at the centre. Don't drain the cooking liquid; it's the foundation of your soup. Peel the warm beets — the skin slips away easily — then grate them on a coarse grater. Stir the grated beet into the cooking liquid along with lemon juice (about 1 tbsp per litre), salt, sugar, and a grind of pepper. The acid brightens the earthy beet flavour and acts as a mild preservative. Chill this base thoroughly — it needs to reach fridge temperature before assembly. If you're working with pickled beets, skip the cooking step and use the pickling liquid as your base, thinned with water if it's too sharp.

Prepare the fresh vegetables while the beetroot cools. Slice cucumbers thinly — a mandoline is fastest — and toss with finely chopped dill and parsley. If you're using radish, slice it thinly as well; it brings a peppery sharpness that cuts through the fermented richness. Cook potatoes unpeeled in salted water until completely tender (15–20 minutes for small ones, depending on size), then halve or quarter them. Boil eggs to your preference — 6 minutes for a soft yolk, 8 for custard-like, 10 for fully set — then cool and halve them. The cold-dishes tradition here relies on chilled components meeting cold liquid, so chill potatoes and eggs as well if time allows.

To finish, ladle the beetroot cooking liquid into each serving bowl — you want roughly 250–300 ml per person — then stir in 150 ml of cold kefir. The kefir provides tang from fermented-foods and richness; its thickness will thin the soup slightly and add probiotic depth. Adjust the consistency by adding more of either liquid until you reach something between broth and thin sauce. Float a spoonful of thick sour cream on top, then arrange a halved egg and the potato pieces on the surface. Scatter the cucumber and radish mixture over, finish with chopped chives, and serve immediately. The contrast between cold, tangy soup and firm potato is the dish's logic — don't skip the chilling step or let components warm.