Chłodnik Litewski (Chilled Beet Soup)
Updated September 12, 2024
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 bunch small beets (about 5 small beets) with greens attached (about 1 ½ pounds total)
1 ½ pounds yellow baby potatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Persian cucumbers (about 6), peeled, quartered lengthwise then sliced ¼-inch thick
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 cups kefir or buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
4 radishes, quartered then thinly sliced
6 soft-boiled eggs, for garnish
Flaky sea salt
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
34 grams carbs; 193 milligrams cholesterol; 310 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 926 milligrams sodium; 13 grams protein; 11 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Roast the beets: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Thoroughly wash the beets and greens under cold running water. Separate the greens from the beets and trim the top and bottom tips of the beets. If any beets are particularly large, halve them. Tightly wrap the beets individually in aluminum foil and place them onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the beets are fork-tender, about 40 minutes. (If they’re still too firm after 40 minutes, bake further, checking every 5 to 10 minutes.)
- Step 2
While the beets roast, cook the potatoes: Bring a medium saucepan of well salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool. Once cooled, halve the potatoes or quarter them, if particularly large.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, add the cucumbers to a colander, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let sit in the sink for at least 15 minutes, allowing excess liquid to drain.
- Step 4
Roughly chop the beet greens into ½-inch pieces, then add to a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Add sugar and a big pinch of salt, then bring to a boil over high. Once the liquid comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, then set beet greens aside to cool.
- Step 5
Unwrap the cooked beets from the foil and set aside to cool. Once cool, remove the outer skin by peeling it with your hands. It should come away easily. (Consider using kitchen gloves for this task, to avoid staining hands.) Chop into small, ½-inch pieces and set aside.
- Step 6
Add the kefir and sour cream to a large bowl and whisk together until combined. Add the cooked beets and beet greens, dill, chives, half the cucumbers and half the radishes. Mix together gently until combined and the soup takes on a lovely pink hue. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
- Step 7
Chłodnik can be served right away, but it’s typically chilled in the refrigerator for at least an hour (and up to 2 days), as its color intensifies with time. To serve, spoon a serving of the potatoes into the bottom of each bowl, then ladle the soup on top. Garnish with the remaining cucumbers and radishes, a halved soft-boiled egg, some dill, some chives and some flaky sea salt, if you like.
Private Notes
Comments
Commenting as a Lithuanian for whom this is a staple traditional dish: we would serve it over/with *hot* potatoes and eggs, no need to wait for either to cool down. The contrast in temperatures is anticipated. Especially great if you fry the potatoes a bit to make them crunchy, adding a contrast of textures as well. Also, most of us do not bother with the whole process of preparing beets - it is quite tedious - and use steamed or marinated beets. And skip the sour cream, good kefir is enough!
Definitely Lithuanian, in Vilnius (capital of Lithuania) there' even a special festival to celebarate it, happening in June. Glad you've liked it! Traditionally, potatoes are served on the side.
Absolutely, but in my grandmother's house, we skipped the kefir and double up on sour cream, lolol.
Its an east european recipe incl russia. The ingredients grow in the own gardens. Also in middle Europe. The beet need not to be peeled when fresh harvested. A very fine hot summer dish! Depending on your time and professionality for preparation you get a stew until a culinary sensation. The Volume should be kept small because in the Addition it gets more than you thought
Vilnius was once the Jerusalem of Europe. Jews and non-Jews lived there together and we each borrowed from each other our cooking ideas. Borscht was a common soup for Passover, we would eat it the day before the seders when the house was ready for the holiday, so we could not have bread but we could not yet eat matzah. Some would have pickled beets in their household, others root cellars, so i imagine that determined whether one made it with pickled beets or with stored. I make a bit pot before passover and eat it throughout, adding the egg, potatoes (heated up) and fresh veggies when served. Doing it with new beets in the summer sounds like a great way to use my farm share beets, with their greens. Oh, to the person who said they used chard to substitute for beet greens and thought it had a similar flavor? It should! Swiss chard is in the same family as beets.
Can anyone explain why recipes for roasted beets, always say to wrap them in aluminum foil? It seems to me that steams them, rather than roasting them, which is, as far as I know, exposure to dry heat. I roast beets, unwrapped, and they are delicious.