Golden Summer Borscht
Borscht is often thought of as a hearty, warming winter soup, but in Eastern Europe it’s also a refreshing summer dish. With beets, cucumber, and fresh dill, my Golden Summer Borscht is a cooling, nourishing meal. Using golden beets gives the soup a gorgeous gold color, reminiscent of the golden glow of summer (though you can use regular beets too for a just as delicious but beautifully pink version!). Its light, tangy, and fresh, making it perfect for hot days when you want something satisfying but not heavy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Summer borscht is as delicious as it is stunning to look at. The combination of earthy beets, tangy yogurt and sour cream, and fresh herbs makes for a soup that’s both vibrant and refreshing. And it’s an excellent make-ahead meal, since it tastes even better after resting in the fridge for a few hours.
Big thanks to my friend Anya for introducing me to the amazing world of borscht!! Find Anya’s recipe for borscht below!
Ingredient Notes
Beets: I use golden beets to give the soup a gorgeous golden color, but regular red beets will make an equally delicious but pink borscht. Boil the beets until tender, and save some of the beet cooking liquid to make the broth. Some recipes will call for blending all of the beets into the broth, but I like to leave some diced to give the soup some added texture.
Cucumber: Adds crunch and freshness that balances out the richness of the yogurt and sour cream
Fresh Dill: The classic herb for borscht, giving it a bright and aromatic flavor
Greek Yogurt and Sour Cream: Give the soup body, creaminess, and tanginess. I like the combination of Greek yogurt and sour cream, but you could use all yogurt or all sour cream if that’s your preference
Lemon Juice and Vinegar: Provides acidity to bring out the natural sweetness of the beets and balance out the richness of the yogurt and sour cream
Tips for Making This Recipe
Cook the beets ahead: Boil the beets until tender, then let cool and store in the fridge (along with some of the boiling liquid) until you’re ready to make the soup
Chill thoroughly: The soup needs to chill for at least 2 hours in the fridge and the longer it sits the more the flavors will meld
Adjust creaminess: Add more or less yogurt/sour cream depending on how light or rich you want to make the borscht
Garnish generously: Top with fresh dill, cucumber, a dollop of sour cream, and lots of black pepper make for a beautiful and flavorful presentation
Golden Summer Borscht
Ingredients
- 8 small golden beets about 2 lbs, tops trimmed off
- salt
- 1 small shallot finely chopped; or ¼ of a red onion
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 large cucumbers diced
- ½ c fresh dill plus more to garnish
- 2 c chicken stock
- 1 ½ c beet cooking liquid
- 1 c greek yogurt
- ½ c sour cream plus more to garnish
- 1 tbsp sugar
- juice from ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
Plan ahead- the soup will need to chill for at least 2 hours
- Cook beets in a pot of salted water until soft, about 40 min. Remove beets and set aside to cool. Measure out 1 ½ c cooking liquid and set aside to cool.
- Finely chop the shallot, place in a small jar, and add apple cider vinegar on top of the shallot; set aside to macerate as you prepare the remaining ingredients. Chop the cucumber into small pieces and finely chop the dill. Set aside.
- Peel the beets, chop a third of them into small pieces and set aside. Roughly chop the remaining beets and add them to a large pot.
- Add the beet cooking liquid, chicken stock, and greek yogurt and sour cream to the pot with the beets, blend together with an immersion blender (or you can do this in a batches in a blender). Add the macerated shallots, along with the vinegar to the soup, along with the chopped beets, cucumber, dill, sugar, lemon juice, olive oil, 1-2 tsp salt, and black pepper. Stir to mix, cover, and move to the refrigerator; the flavors will change as the borscht chills so don’t worry if it doesn’t taste great at this point. Chill for at least 2 hours.
- After chilling, taste and adjust salt, sugar, and acid as needed. Serve cold with more dill, sour cream, and black pepper to garnish.