I love beets. I know they may seem intimidating to prepare but, honestly, let’s not let root vegetables intimidate us!
They’re easy to roast and delicious in so many recipes. Beautiful, earthy and sweet in a green salad with goat cheese and chopped pecans or warm with orange slices and dill.
But my favorite and most beautiful way of eating beets is in this luscious, fuschia, dill infused lemony beet borscht. Most people think of borscht as a hot winter soup rich with beef and cabbage and indeed, it is. This is the light, cold and summery version. The best part of this soup is no cooking other than the beets. Enjoy!
Honestly now, isn’t that beautiful?
Ingredients: cooked beets, chicken broth, lemon zest and juice, fresh dill, scallions, salt and pepper and sour cream or yogurt.
Zest your lemon using a microplane (pictured) or the small holes on your grater.
Chop six scallions.
Beets and chicken broth in the food processor.
Blend it into a beautiful scarlet mess. And wear an apron. Just in case.
Add scallions, dill, lemon zest and juice. Blend some more.
Making Borscht.
Pour everything into a big bowl. It’s pretty but not yet gorgeous.
Add sour cream or yogurt and stir until it becomes a smooth, creamy and beautiful fuchsia.
See what I mean?
Cold soup perfection. Top with sour cream and fresh dill.
Kitchen Princess Cold Beet Borscht – Ingredients
Serves 6
- 12 – 16 ounces cooked, organic beets*
- 12 ounces organic chicken or beef stock
- Zest of one lemon
- Juice of one lemon
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 scallions, chopped
- 2 cups organic, full fat sour cream or plain yogurt or one cup of each
- Additional sour cream and chopped chives for garnish
Kitchen Princess Cold Beet Borscht – Method
*To cook beets:
-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat washed and trimmed beets lightly with oil. Wrap beets in foil and place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until cooked through, approximately 45 to 60 minutes or until easily pierced with a sharp knife.
- Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then peel.
- Put the cooked beets and the chicken or beef stock in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the big chunks are gone.
- Add the lemon zest and juice, dill, salt and pepper and scallions. Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a big bowl.
- Thoroughly mix in the sour cream or yogurt and chill in refrigerator until very cold.
- Taste for seasoning. It will be delightfully lemony and fresh!
- Serve topped with a spoonful of sour cream and more chopped fresh dill.
- When peeling the beets, you might want to wear rubber gloves. Beets will stain your skin and you don’t want to look like lady MacBeth!
- I use chicken stock because it’s lighter but use whichever you prefer. Or, to keep it totally vegetarian, just use vegetable broth.
