Borscht on a Cracker

Borscht is traditionally beet soup, but this borschtstyle dip is a great starter—provided you don’t have white carpeting.

8 medium beets, peeled

2⁄3 cup sour cream (regular, low-fat, or fatfree)

2 tablespoons minced dill fronds

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

24 to 30 small crackers, such as table water Crackers

• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Wrap the beets tightly in aluminum foil.
• Bake until tender, about 1 hour. Cool in the foil packet for 15 minutes.
• Carefully unwrap the packet; save any liquid. Cool the beets until you can handle them, then shred through the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl. Alternatively, feed them through the shredding blade into a food processor. Stir in any liquid from the packet.
• Stir in the sour cream, dill, oil, vinegar, horseradish, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Spoon in small mounds onto crackers to serve.

Makes 6 servings