Šaltibarščiai

Ingredients

• 400 g cooked beetroot (not in vinegar), peeled
• 1 litre kefir, well chilled
• 150 g soured cream
• 1 large cucumber
• 5 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 20 g fresh dill, finely chopped
• 4 eggs
• 800 g small waxy potatoes
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Before you cook

• Grate the cooked beetroot on the coarse side of a box grater into a large bowl.
• Halve the cucumber lengthways, scrape out the watery seeds with a teaspoon and cut the flesh into small dice.
• Slice the spring onions thinly and chop the dill, stalks and all.
• Scrub the potatoes but leave them unpeeled.

Steps

1. Put the eggs in a pan of cold water and bring it to the boil.
2. Boil the eggs for 9 minutes, then drain them and cool them under running cold water.
3. Put the potatoes in a second pan, cover them with cold salted water and bring to the boil.
4. Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
5. Peel and dice three of the eggs and keep the fourth whole.
6. Add the diced cucumber, spring onions and most of the dill to the grated beetroot.
7. Pour in the chilled kefir and stir until the soup turns an even bright pink.
8. Stir in the soured cream, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of salt and the black pepper.
9. Fold through the diced egg, keeping the pieces intact.
10. Taste the soup and adjust the salt, then thin it with a splash of cold water if it is thicker than you like.
11. Chill the soup in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or serve it straight away over a couple of ice cubes.
12. Drain the potatoes and cut the whole reserved egg into quarters.
13. Ladle the cold soup into four bowls, top each with an egg quarter and the remaining dill, and serve the hot potatoes alongside on a separate plate.