Totally Pink - Chilled Beet Soup

What comes to your mind hearing the word "soup"? Creamy pumpkin soup or hot and steamy chicken soup? Chilled beet soup or just "cold soup" is something completely different. Loved across the Baltic states and other European countries, it is a refreshing summer favorite made with kefir - fermented milk which is good for your digestive system. You can find special "cold soup mix" in Polish, Russian or Baltic shops or if there aren't any in your region - boiled beets will do the wonder (and pinkness).
Challenge your taste buds - let's make the cold soup for hot summer days!

Ingredients:

• 1l kefir or buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• ~300-400g boiled and cubed/sliced beets (or a special mix for cold soup, usually containing beets and potatoes)
• 3 middle sized potatoes
• 2 small fresh cucumbers or 1 big cucumber
• Optional: herbs like dill or spring onions

Well, eggs and potatoes will be the only thing you need to boil otherwise it wouldn't be a cold soup, right? Peel potatoes, cut the bigger in half or quarters and boil. Boil the eggs for 7-10 minutes, hardboiled works best. Let them cool, you don't want to warm up the kefir.

Peel the eggs and cucumbers.

Cut eggs, potatoes and cucumbers in small cubes or strips.

Pour kefir in a big bowl and add beets or cold soup mix. Stir and enjoy how your masterpiece turns pink. The more beets you'll add, the brighter it will get - if you don't want any more, extra juice from the beets works as well.

Add other ingredients and stir the soup- you could have done it in the previous step as well, if you are not amazed by your food turning pink.

Top with your favorite herbs like dill or spring onions. Serve cold! Store in the refridgerator - some people like to let the soup sit in the fridge for a few hours before the meal.

TIPS:

• Feel free to experiment with amount of ingredients - for example, skip the potatoes or add raddish.

• Had unexpected guests but no extra kefir? Mix a glass or two of cold water into the soup - it won't be as thick, but will serve more people.
• There is a joke about cold soup being an neverending soup - you can add more kefir and other ingredients next day and keep on snacking!

• If pink scares you anyway - skip the beets.