Food

Summer Soups

As soon as the summer heat hits, these two chilled concoctions appear at nearly every dining table in Russia. Ridiculously easy to make (95 percent of the preparation involves chopping), they call for an almost identical list of ingredients; but swap the beets for sorrel and you get a soup with a completely different look and taste. In either case, you'll need: 2-3 hard-boiled eggs, 2-3 small cucumbers, fresh dill, a few scallions, half a lemon, sour cream and a little salt.

Directions:

1. Place several young beet roots in two quarts of water, adding ½ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer until tender. 30-45 minutes.

2. Remove beets from broth and let cool. Peel beets and cut into thin strips about an inch in length. Squeeze the ½ lemon onto the beets.

3. Add water to broth to bring it up to 2-3 quarts. Add beet greens, finely chopped, to broth and bring to a boil. 20 minutes.

4. Add beet roots and ½ teaspoon of salt to broth. Let cool.

5. Finely chop the eggs, the cucumbers, the dill and the scallions. Add these ingredients to the cooled broth and stir.

6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt. Add sliced steak or cold cuts for a more carnivorous slant (but do you really want to do that to one of Russia's very few great vegetarian dishes?).

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