Raspberry & Beet Cold Soup
The temperature is getting higher, the days are getting longer, seasonal fruits and vegetables are already available, so it’s a clear sign that it’s time for cold soups to take over our cuisine. I know that most of you usually associate cold soup with kefir and beetroot, but I have something special for you. How about a combination of raspberries, strawberries, and beets? I know, I know, that’s quite an unusual combination, but trust me, it’s worth a try.
How is this cold soup different from others, apart from the original combination of ingredients? It is dairy-free and gluten-free, and if someone wants to make it in a 100% vegan version, they can replace the honey with maple syrup and enjoy the vegan option.
The preparation is incredibly easy, and the taste and refreshing effect are one of a kind. Check it out.
Preparation
I blended boiled beetroot, raspberries, strawberries, and water. Then I added the vinegar, honey, pepper, salt, and mixed it all together. I poured the cold soup into a bowl and sprinkled it with sunflower seeds. Isn’t that easy?
The beetroot has to be cold before it goes in
Boil it the day before, or use a vacuum-packed cooked beetroot from the shop, which is what makes this a ten-minute recipe rather than an hour-long one. A warm beetroot blended with raspberries gives you a lukewarm soup that then needs an hour in the fridge anyway, and warmth flattens the fruit.
Roasted beetroot works too and tastes sweeter and deeper, though it pushes the soup away from the fresh, sharp profile the raspberries are there to give. If you boil your own, cook it whole and unpeeled so it keeps its colour, then peel it under cold running water.
Vinegar and honey are the balance, and they go in last
Beetroot is earthy, raspberries are sour, and strawberries are sweet but mild. The apple cider vinegar sharpens the whole thing and keeps the colour bright, while the honey pulls the sourness back. Neither should be tasted on its own in the finished soup.
Add both after blending and taste between additions. Fruit varies far more than a recipe can account for: mid-season raspberries need more honey than late ones, and shop strawberries in May need more of everything. A pinch of cayenne is not a mistake in the list either, it lifts the fruit rather than making the soup hot.
Consistency and how cold it should be
Half a cup of water is a starting point, not a rule. Blended fruit thickens in the fridge, so a soup that looks right in the blender often needs loosening before serving. Add water a tablespoon at a time, because it is quick to turn a cold soup into juice.
Serve it properly cold, straight from the fridge. This is the one dish where a few degrees decide whether it reads as refreshing or as a thick fruit puree, and an hour of chilling does more for it than any extra ingredient.
Keeping, and what to put on top
It keeps two days in the fridge, covered, and separates a little as it stands, so stir it before serving. Do not freeze it: blended fresh fruit comes out of the freezer watery.
The sunflower seeds go on at the table, not into the pot, because they soften within minutes. Toasting them dry in a pan for a minute is worth the trouble. If you would rather have summer meals like this one planned into the week with a shopping list, that is what the Diet & Training by Ann app does.
If you want the same pairing hot, there is a warm beetroot and raspberry cream soup on the blog, made with frozen fruit for the winter.
Raspberry and beetroot cold soup
Ingredients
Method
- Blend the cold boiled beetroot with the raspberries, strawberries and water.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, honey, cayenne pepper and salt, and blend again.
- Taste and adjust the vinegar and honey, then loosen with more water if needed.
- Chill, pour into bowls and sprinkle with sunflower seeds just before serving.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Yes, and a vacuum-packed cooked beetroot is what turns this into a ten-minute recipe. The important thing is that it goes in cold: a warm beetroot blended with raspberries gives a lukewarm soup that then needs an hour in the fridge anyway.
Replace the honey with maple syrup. Everything else in the recipe is already dairy-free and gluten-free.
They balance the soup. Beetroot is earthy and raspberries are sour, so the cider vinegar sharpens the whole thing and keeps the colour bright while the honey pulls the sourness back. Add both after blending and taste between additions, because fruit varies far more than a recipe can account for.
A pinch lifts the fruit rather than making the soup hot. It works the same way salt does in a dessert, and at one pinch you will not taste it as heat.
Two days in the fridge, covered. It separates a little as it stands, so stir before serving, and do not freeze it, because blended fresh fruit comes out of the freezer watery. The sunflower seeds go on at the table, since they soften within minutes. Summer meals like this one come planned into the week with a shopping list in the Diet & Training by Ann app.
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