Ingredients

Method

• 6-8 medium beetroots
• 8 cups water
• 1 T salt, plus extra to season
• 2 T sugar
• freshly ground black pepper, to season
for serving:
• thick sour cream or yoghurt
• chopped cucumber
• chopped fresh dill or snipped chives
• thinly sliced radishes
• chopped or sliced hard-boiled egg

Method

Ingredients

1. Wash the beetroots well, but don’t peel. Trim the stalks but leave attached. Place in a saucepan with the water and salt. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook, covered, for about an hour or until tender. Strain the soup and stir in the sugar and lemon juice.

2. Check to see that it has a good sweet-sour balance, and correct if necessary.

3. As soon as the beetroots are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins and chop. Blend the chopped beetroot with the liquid until smooth. Check the seasoning and sweet-sour balance. Chill well.

4. Serve with bowls of accompaniments to add at the table.

Per serving: 444.4kJ, 3.5g protein, 1.6g fat, 19.7g carbs

Find more soup recipes here.

More information:
In Poland, Christmas Eve is a day of fasting. But as soon as the first star, a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem, appears, the feasting begins. Christmas supper is strictly a family occasion and consists of 12 courses, one for each of the 12 apostles. One of the dishes is beetroot soup. Here’s a cold version to suit our hot summers.