Svekolnik - Russian Cold Beetroot Soup
Vibrant and cooling svekolnik is made with boiled beetroot, eggs, cucumber, radishes, lots of herbs, and the base of fermented dairy drink kefir.
Equipment
- 1 medium pot
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 medium beetroot peeled and quartered
- 4 eggs
- 1 medium cucumber
- 6 radishes
- 1/2 cups fresh chopped dill
- 1/2 cups fresh chopped parsley leaves
- 2 tbsp chopped scallion
- 200 ml kefir see notes
- 100 ml sparkling water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Salt & Pepper to taste
For the spice blend:
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Instructions
For the vegetable mixture:
- Bring 1.5 litre of water to boil. Season lightly with salt.
- Add the quartered beets and the eggs.
- Boil the eggs for 9 minutes, then take out and let cool.
- Continue to boil the beet for another 10-15 minutes, until it has softened. To check for readiness, poke with a fork - it should go through smoothly.
- Turn the heat off and allow the beets to cool in their water down to the room temperature.
- Cut the cucumber into thin strips.
- Wash and finely chop the herbs.
- Remove the tips off the radishes, cut them in half and slice thinly across. Set a few pieces aside for garnish.
- Once the beets have cooled, slice them into thin strips similar to cucumber. Reserve their broth and refrigerate.
- In a large bowl, combine beets, cucumber, most of the radishes, and most of the herbs.
- Add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and 1/3 tsp salt.
- Mix well, taste and adjust for tang and/or saltiness.
For the spice blend:
- Dry roast the whole spices for just 10-20 seconds until the start to darken, then grind to a fine powder.
To serve:
- Break one egg in a soup bowl and add 2 tbsp of vegetables mixture.
- Pour in 3 tbsp of beetroot broth, 2 tbsp of kefir and 1 tbsp of sparkling water. Stir well to combine. Add a little more beetroot broth of kefir if desired.
- Season with 1/2 tsp of spice blend and some black pepper.
- Garnish with a few slices of radishes and some more fresh herbs and serve.
Notes
- Kefir drink is generally available in most supermarkets. Alternatively, you can use Activia. Otherwise, you can also stir in a table spoon of sour cream into the bowl instead of kefir.
- Svekolnik is best enjoyed cold, right out of the fridge. Keep all the ingredients refrigerated until ready to serve.