COPPERSaltibarsciai recipe
A cold Lithuanian soup of kefir turned bright pink by grated beetroot, eaten with a bowl of hot boiled potatoes on the side.
Ingredients
- 1000 ml kefir
- 400 g cooked beetroot
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 bunch dill
- 4 spring onions
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 600 g potatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
How to make Saltibarsciai
- Boil 400 g of beetroot whole for 40 to 60 minutes until a knife slides in, then cool it completely, peel and grate it coarsely.
- Dice 2 cucumbers, chop 1 bunch of dill and 4 spring onions.
- Put the vegetables in a bowl and pour over 1 litre of cold plain kefir; it is the fermented milk that makes the soup, so do not use broth or cream.
- Stir until the colour turns an even bright pink, season with 1 teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper, and thin with a little cold water if it is too thick.
- Chill at least 1 hour; the soup must be properly cold.
- Boil 600 g of potatoes and serve them hot in a separate bowl, never in the soup.
- Ladle the soup out, top each bowl with a halved hard boiled egg and more dill, and eat the hot potatoes alongside the cold soup.
What is Saltibarsciai?
Saltibarsciai is a traditional dish from Lithuania, boiled, and takes about 2 hours and 50 minutes from start to finish. It is built around kefir, potatoes and cooked beetroot. The recipe below uses 9 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Saltibarsciai take?
At 170 minutes it is slower than 68% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 3 dishes built on kefir. The method runs to 7 steps, the longest being 60 minutes.
Any tips for making Saltibarsciai?
Cool the beetroot completely before grating it into the cold kefir, and serve the hot potatoes in a separate bowl, never in the soup.
How Saltibarsciai compares
Hard to find elsewhere: cooked beetroot (1) and kefir (3).
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