Chilled Beet Soup with Fresh Dill

Chlodnik, a simple chilled beet soup, is a summertime staple in Poland. It was our inspiration for this recipe, but instead of mixing sour cream or another creamy, tangy dairy product directly into the soup, we dollop it on as a garnish. Refrigerated cooked beets, found in the produce section of most grocery stores, and jarred pickled beets make the soup a breeze to prepare. We blend the beets with ice so it can be served right away (no chilling required), but it also can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a day before serving, and its flavor actually improves as it sits. If you don’t have ice on hand, add an additional ½ cup cold water to each batch of puree and chill the soup until cold. To keep the soup cold at the table, chill your bowls in the freezer briefly before ladling in the soup.

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% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the radishes, cucumber, pickled beets, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon dill, ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; set aside.

Step 2

2. In a blender, combine half of the cooked beets, the reserved cooked beet juice, ¾ cup water and 1 cup ice. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl. Puree the remaining cooked beets, the remaining 1 cup ice and 1 cup water until smooth and add to the bowl. To the puree, add the pickled beet juice and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir, then taste and season with salt.

Step 3

3. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Top each with a spoonful of sour cream, some of the radish-cucumber mixture, the remaining dill and a few grinds of pepper.

Step 4

Don’t discard the beet juice from the packages of refrigerated cooked beets. The liquid is colorful and flavorful, so we puree it with the beets.