How Vilnius paints the town pink, while I try to scrub beetroot out of my chinos
Summer – time for chilled soup? Not same old Gazpacho or Vichyssoise, mind. Both of which I can at least pronounce. Unlike Šaltibarščiai, Lithuania’s legendary ‘Pink Soup’, whose annual festival drew a record 176,000 visitors to the capital Vilnius the other weekend. I wish I could have joined them. Maybe next year. Meanwhile I’m making my own. Simple recipe later.
Basically it’s a Borsch, the bright hue coming from its beetroot base. Other Baltic and Slavic states boast their own takes on such a refreshing chilled potage. The Poles call it Barszcz or Chlodnik, the Russians Svekolnik (the Ukrainians don’t).
Borscht, the hot variety I conjure up through the year, benefits from a rich meat stock, whereas Šaltibarščiai folds diced beetroot, spring onions and cucumber into Kefir, that fermented milk drInk created by lactic acid bacteria and yeasts that thrive at room temperature. Yes, it’s probiotic and good for your gut.
Ever since I witnessed the great Jonathan Meades – in one of his Magnetic North BBC documentaries – visit the Hill of 100,000 Crosses in the north of Lithuania, a pilgrimage site and symbol of resistance against Russian occupation. I’ve been hooked on its history. The country’s pagan heritage, too. Known as “Europe’s last pagan kingdom,” Lithuania was the last nation in Europe to officially convert to Christianity in 1387.
Surprisingly Vilnius offers a riot of ‘wedding cake’ Baroque churches, which every late May play second fiddle to a mass of folk in bright pink costume slurping ice-cold soup
This year around 35,000 visitors from abroad were able to participate in the Pink Parade held on water, the signature costume competition, a giant four-storey tall pink slide, and culinary interpretations spread throughout the city. The sheer scale was reflected in 355 mapped locations offering šaltibarščiai-themed food, activities and events, culminating in the Best Pink Soup Costume Contest. The ‘traditional egg topping’ is on my garb bucket list.
Food trucks stationed around the White Bridge epicentre of the Pink Soup Festiavl used more than 4 tonnes of kefir, which was the main ingredient for almost 6.5 tonnes of šaltibarščiai devoured across the weekend.
Nearly 16,000 people dressed in pink took part in the 10.5 km IKI Pink Soup Walking Competition across the city alongside more than 600 pets. Later, participants exchanged their steps for almost 50,000 fruits, and other ingredients used to make Lithuania’s iconic cold soup, including 4,000 cucumbers, 2,000 beets, and 4,000 bundles of dill.
• The 2027 edition of Vilnius Pink Soup Fest, the fifth, will take place on May 28–30, returning to its traditional last-weekend-of-May slot, and symbolising the beginning of summer season in Lithuania.
How to make Lithuanian Šaltibarščiai
first of all I consulted my Baltic food bible, Amber and Rye (Murdoch Books, £25) by Zuza Zak.She refines the recipe by creating an add-on fermented beetroot elixir, which I might use another time but had no patience to wait the five days it would take to bubble up. So here’s a simpler take on this classic dish that I Googled…
It supposedly serves four, but is ample for six. Spoiler alert: be careful with your colourful beet dicing. I splattered my chinos.
Ingredients
1kg kefir
200g beets, boiled or marinated
200g fresh cucumbers
six spring onions chopped
a pinch of fresh dill
2 eggs
salt, to taste
For serving
400g potatoes, boiled
dill, chopped, to taste
Method
Finely chop the vegetables and dill. Mix them all in a large bowl. Pour the kefir over the vegetables, flavour with salt according to taste, mix and let stand for several minutes (the longer the mixed vegetables stand, the tastier it will turn out).
Pour the soup into bowls, cut the boiled egg in pieces into the bowls. The cold soup is served with dill-speckled hot boiled potatoes on the side.
