For a ‘seriously good’ chilled soup, add cherries to your red beets

“I don’t know what I was expecting, but it’s very good,” my niece Mia said as she tasted some chilled cherry borscht. “It tastes a little like a dessert.”

“Mmm. It’s seriously good,” said my brother-in-law Tom. “Light and refreshing, a perfect warm-weather repast.”

“I like the tart aftertaste,” said my sister, Liz. “And I recommend swirling.”

Oh, yes, swirling. The recipe, which I found in the copy of “The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook” that I picked up at the recent Friends of the Osterhout Free Library Book Sale, mentions you should stir a blend of yogurt and sour cream into this cold red concoction. But I had neglected to do that; when I served it the yogurt/sour cream was still just a dollop on top of everyone’s soup.

So, away we stirred. And the compliments kept coming.

“The cherry mellows out the beet flavor,” Mark said.

“It’s delicious,” my mom added.

That made it unanimous. Everyone sitting around Mom’s kitchen table on a recent summer afternoon liked the soup.

I’d suspected I would, since I like plain borscht that is mostly made from red beets, and I like the more vegetable-soup version of borscht where you still use mostly beets but add other things like shredded cabbage, a potato and a carrot.

And, of course, I like cherries. Most people do, don’t they? Cookbook author Diana Shaw wrote that cherries “blend seamlessly” with the beets in this soup, and I agree.

Here is the recipe, which I followed closely except that I used an immersion blender instead of a food processor. And I probably added more than 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, which may account for that tartness my sister detected during a recent family get-together.

Cherry Borscht

4 large beets, scrubbed

1 pound cherries, pitted

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or raspberry vinegar

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/4 cup reduced-fat or nonfat sour cream

In a large saucepan simmer the beets in water to cover over medium heat until they’re tender enough to pierce with a knife, about 40 minutes. Drain the beets, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. set the beets aside to cool.

Put the cherries in a medium saucepan along with the reserved beet-cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and simmer until the cherries are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice or vinegar and simmer for 2 minutes more.

Peel and quarter the beets. Place them in a food processor along with the cherries and cooking liquid. Puree the mixture and transfer to a large bowl. Refrigerate the soup until it’s thoroughly chilled, about 3 hours In a separate mixing bowl, blend together the yogurt and sour cream and stir them into the beet and cherry puree before serving.