learning through food—lithuanian summer soup sunday

when Ruta, my friend from Lithuania, said she was gonna cook us a summery pink beetroot soup, i imagined it to be like the russian borscht without meat in it. maybe it's my preconception that russian, lithuanian, latvian and countries in those areas have very similar cultures (which i still think it's true, to a certain extend)

but this pink soup was something entirely different, a combination of aroma, taste and texture completely new to my sense. it was cold, light and herby, just one the line between savoury and sweet.

plus, it's very simple to make, and will leave you feel very nourished afterwards

she cooked one big beet in water until tender, grate it and season with salt, lemon juice and honey (normally pickled beet is used) add chopped dill, spring onion and cucumber and mix them together. as Ruta said, this is more like a liquid salad than a soup.

add kefir (which is easy to find in eastern european/russian shop, or use natural yogurt drink instead) mis them together and everything will magically turn pink! chill the soup in the fridge while preparing potatoes.

cut and boil potato and salt water until tender, drain the water and add some chopped dill in it.

serve the cheery cold soup with warm potato and boiled egg. it was a sunny sunday and we enjoyed it in our kitchen. it felt almost like summer then.

the combination of flavours from this traditional comfort food surprise me, and it reminded me that there's something to discover from any cultures, even from the least expected ones.

and i still need to try the simpalatis, buttery puff pastry roll with poppy seeds filling!