Saltibarsciai is a cold beet soup from Lithuania that is usually prepared during summertime. People typically eat it together with roast pork, sandwiches, and barbecue. However, the dish will easily go with almost anything. Once prepared, it can be stored for up to five days in the refrigerator.
Beet soup recipe
To prepare Lithuanian cold beet soup, you will need the following: 1 pound of peeled red beets, 4 cups of buttermilk, 1 cup sour cream, 2 medium cucumbers cut into ½-inch pieces, 2 hard-cooked eggs, 2 green onions, ¼ teaspoon salt, some pepper to taste, and fresh chopped dill for garnish. First, boil the red beets in water until they are fully cooked. At the same time, chop the onions and cucumbers finely. Take the eggs and remove the firm yolks from the whites. Chop the whites finely and add them to the cucumber-onion mixture. In a bowl, mash in the egg yolks together with ¼ teaspoon of salt and sliced green onions.
When the beets are tender, take them out and cool them in a refrigerator for about an hour. Once they are cold, grate them in a way so that the strips are of a coarse texture. Strain the beet cooking liquid and blend in some sour cream and buttermilk. Into this, add the grated beets, the cucumber-onion-egg white mixture, and the yolk-onion mixture. Stir until everything is properly mixed. Pour this into a container and chill it to your preference.
Once they are cold enough, you can take the dish out and eat it to your heart’s content. This recipe should be sufficient enough for 4 servings. A total of 90 minutes will be required to prepare the Lithuanian cold beet soup. Remember to wear a pair of gloves when handling beets to avoid stains on your skin. If you cannot wear gloves but are worried about beet stains, you only need to rub your hands with some lemon juice to get rid of the stains.
To prepare Lithuanian Cold Beet Soup, you will need the following: 1 pound of peeled red beets, 4 cups of buttermilk, 1 cup sour cream, 2 medium cucumbers cut into ½-inch pieces, 2 hard-cooked eggs, 2 green onions, ¼ teaspoon salt, some pepper to taste, and fresh chopped dill for garnish. (Image: Screenshot via YouTube)
Health benefits
Beetroots are low in calories but are rich in numerous minerals and vitamins. 100 grams of cooked beetroot provides almost 20 percent of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of folates and 16 percent RDI of manganese. In addition, the veggie also provides Vitamin C, Iron, Potassium, Vitamin B6, and Phosphorus. Beets are believed to improve blood circulation and help with constipation. “In traditional Chinese medicines, beets are considered cool and sweet and are used to treat anemia, heart weakness, irritability, restlessness, constipation, herpes, and to detoxify the liver,” according to Ask Dr. Mao.
One of the main issues faced by many people is indigestion. Beets can help deal with this as they are a rich source of fiber. Just one cup of beets contains almost 3.4 grams of fiber. Fiber can minimize the risk of diseases like colon cancer and type 2 diabetes. Various studies have shown that beets can lower blood pressure by up to 10 mmHg within just hours of consumption. The vegetable is also said to improve athletic performance.
Beetroot offers numerous health benefits. (Image: congerdesign via Pixabay)
One study that looked at nine competitive cyclists discovered that those who drank beetroot juice improved their performance by 2.8 percent over a 2.5-mile-long ride. It has been proposed that eating beetroot can boost oxygen use by up to 20 percent, which ends up improving one’s physical performance. To get the best energy boost out of beetroot, you should drink its juice about 2 or 3 hours before a competition or training.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest
