cold borscht

[lullyloo]

Cold borscht is one of my favorite dishes to eat in the summer - the color (ZOW!), flavor (how can three mundane ingredients make a flavor so compelling?), creamy coolth, and simplicity are so refreshing!!! so transporting!! Made it the other night based on my grandmother's recipe. Beet juice (from a can, but when I have more time, I want try again with fresh beets) whisked with yoghurt and a generous squirt of lemon juice until bright fuschia (can also use sour cream or half yog - half sour cream). Poured over very thinly sliced cucumber and hard boiled egg, and of course you can add some chopped beets, too, if you like, and a dash of pepper. In my opinion the additions should be kept small in size and not too many should be floating in the divine borscht, so as not to mar its lovely minimalness (a word?). Any thoughts, recipe variations, poetic musings? (Perhaps a separate thread would be) tributes to the beet?

[Jinmyo]

I do a gazborschtso which combines cold borscht with diced seeded roma tomatoes, English or Lebanese cucumbers (seeded diced), minced shallots, garlic, diced celery and celery greens, fresh tarragon. Garnish with crumbled French feta (now called "pheta" I guess due to EU regs) or creme fraiche.

[Suzanne F]

My mother always served it poured over hot, peeled, boiled potatoes. That made it a whole meal. (Too bad she also made us eat the tasteless, boiled-out beets.)

Just remembered: she used to beat egg yolks into the sour cream, and then kept beating the whole thing as she poured in the hot beet liquid. That way the egg was cooked, and the cream did not separate out. Then she chilled it (although we might have eaten it hot, too?). She used a rotary hand egg beater; and sour salt, not lemon juice. Otherwise, almost a simple as yours.

[lullyloo]

Now that sounds very interesting. Is it really thick, tomato-heavy like gazpacho or is the borscht the main liquid?

[Jaymes]

Cold borscht is one of my favorite dishes to eat in the summer - the color (ZOW!),  flavor (how can three mundane ingredients make a flavor so compelling?), creamy coolth, and simplicity are so refreshing!!!  so transporting!!  Made it  the other night based on my grandmother's recipe.  Beet juice (from a can, but when I have more time, I want try again with fresh beets) whisked with yoghurt and a generous squirt of lemon juice until bright fuschia (can also use sour cream or half yog - half sour cream).  Poured over very thinly sliced cucumber and hard boiled egg, and of course you can add some chopped beets, too, if you like, and a dash of pepper.

Do I have this straight? Your grandmother's recipe was just beet juice from a can, yoghurt and lemon juice?

If so, You Go Granny! A girl after my own heart. Something fabulous without spending so much time in a hot summer kitchen that by the time you're finished fixing it, you're sick of the entire thing.

And just want to take to bed with your limoncello.

[lullyloo]

Jaymes, I am not exactly sure (maybe someone else can tell us), but I always thought my grandmother's recipe for cold borscht was a standard Russian and/or Russian-Jewish recipe.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Have you tried to fancy it up by whipping the sour cream into the borscht in a blender? The whole thing thickens and gets a lovely silken consistancy. If you were able to get really good potatoes like fingerlings and steam them and then smash them, and top it all with a bit of chopped cuke (no pits please) it takes the soup to another level. All you need is a nice chilly sauvifgnon blanc or gewerztraminer.

[lullyloo]

Steve, that sounds delish, too! Would you pour the borscht over the smashed potatoes still hot or say room temp?

[Steve Plotnicki]

I would say hot, still slightly steaming. Very chilly soup, hot smashed fingerlings and some cool cucumber for crunchiness. I guess a dollop of creme fraiche and a spinkling of chopped chive couldn't hurt either. Deep pink, yellow potato, and two shades of green from the cukes and chives. Sounds like lunch at DB Bistro Moderne if we served it in a martini glass Maybe I can start a new food trend. Nouvelle Ashkenazy. .

[Margaret Pilgrim]

My only experience with this dish was a version I enjoyed at the now defunct Elephant and Castle on Spring St. in NYC. Several weeks later, while experiencing one of our very infrequent 100 degree days in SF, I called the chef for instructions on how to duplicate it. He told me to blend peeled freshly baked beets, peeled cucumbers, sour cream and veal stock, then serve chilled with creme fraiche and chopped dill. It was fabulous.

[Blue Heron]

Cold borscht, as described above, is also a traditional Lithuanian dish. I love it, as well.

[Jinmyo]

Now that sounds very interesting.  Is it really thick, tomato-heavy like gazpacho or is the borscht the main liquid?

It's thin, like borscht. Oops. Forgot to mention the vodka.

[lullyloo]

Margaret, I just ate brunch at Elephant and Castle last weekend. It was on Greenwich Ave. I assume it's the same place. Their signature at breakfast seemed to be a spinach puree served with almost every dish. The beet-cucumber puree sounds very nice. I'll have to try that. Maybe with a little mint.

Blue Heron, I didn't realize that cold borscht was specifically Lithuanian. Makes sense seeing as my grandparents are of Lithuanian descent.

Nouvelle Ashkenazy . . . that could be a funny thread, Steve. I think Shaw had some good ideas with his Ashkenazy (and Sephardic) versions of potato pancakes last December.

[Blue Heron]

Blue Heron,  I didn't realize that cold borscht was specifically Lithuanian.  Makes sense seeing as my grandparents are of Lithuanian descent.  

lullyhoo, my grandpa was born in Vilnius (Vilna) Lithuania . Unfortunately, he and my great great grandparents passed away long before I was able to get any recipes. Fortunately, I have a Lithuanian cookbook I bought when I was a member of a local Lithuanian club. I'd be happy to share some traditional Lithuanian recipies with if you ever need them.

[tony h]

I saw someone doing this on (UK) TV - I tried it & works very well.

Lightly poach the beets & veg. Remove & allow the solids to cool. With the beet/veg infused juice add gelatine/stock to make an aspic-like liquid. Layer the veg & beets, add the liquid (you may want to let the jelly set so the beets can become suspended). Set in the fridge. Serve with a green salad. Looks wonderful.

[Sandra Levine]

Any thoughts, recipe variations, poetic musings? (Perhaps a separate thread would be) tributes to the beet?

[Steve Plotnicki]

Lullylou - There used to be a second Elephant & Castle in Soho. The Greenwich location is the original I believe. And the same people operate Noho Star and the Temple Bar.

I will work on my Nouvelle Ashkenazy menu. It will feature a "lightened" version of cholent.

One of the better borschts in town is the "Meat Borscht" at EAT. It's a hot beet borscht with chunks of boiled potatoes, chopped beets and hunks of flanken (notice how potatoes are chunks and flanken is hunks.) It is quite good and worth spending the outrageous money they charge to try it, In fact as I wrote earlier, they have the best chicken vegetable soup in town as well. Not cheap at $20 a quart though.

Blue Heron - I would think that any place where beets grow, you can find a borscht. And I think that they threw whatever else they grew into the pot, or chpped up and into the bowl.

[Suzanne F]

I was quite surprised to have a hot meat-and-beet borscht at Le Zinc during the winter -- expected parve. It had a light but rich meat broth, chunks of meat, shreds of beets and cabbage, and zip from both lemon juice and vinegar. Quite delicious. It is the very first recipe in Staffmeals from Chanterelle.

[Blue Heron]

Blue Heron,  I didn't realize that cold borscht was specifically Lithuanian.  Makes sense seeing as my grandparents are of Lithuanian descent.  

lullyhoo, I didn't say (or mean) that Cold Borscht is specifically Lithuanian (to the exclusion of any other country), only that it is a traditional Lithuanian dish, and that is how I have come to sample it.

[rozrapp]

Recipe for Cold Summer Borscht

Makes 2-3 servings

1 14-oz. can whole beets

1 cup apple juice

1 cup water

1-1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

Garnish:

Diced cucumber, radish and onion

Chopped dill

Sour cream

Cut beets into quarters. Place in pot along with apple juice, water, lemon juice and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for approx. 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Place in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into large bowl. Add yogurt and whisk until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until completely chilled. To serve, ladle into soup bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream, a little dill, and the diced cucumber, radish and onion.

Note:

The quantities given here are small because I usually make this for just my husband and me. Incease proportionately if you wish to make a bigger batch.