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Pickle soup: a classic Russian recipe. Video
Rassolnik is a primordially Russian dish that has undergone significant changes in cooking technology during its existence. True, the main products used remained the same: pickles, meat and cereals.
Pickle soup: a real Leningrad recipe
If you look at the historical reference book, then the first mention of pickle can be found in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. Then this name was given to pies with chicken and buckwheat. They were called rassolnik because the filling was filled with cucumber pickle mixed with chopped eggs. Now such pies are also prepared, but they are already served as an addition to the soup of the same name.
The first mentions of a broth prepared on the basis of cucumber pickle can be found in the XNUMXth century. Then he was part of recipes for hodgepodge, hangover, kalya. The technologies for preparing these dishes differed from each other in the concentration of the brine, its amount, as well as in the type of meat and cereals used by the hostess. Subsequently, it was kalya that became a common pickle today. Only caviar was no longer added to it, and the brine was replaced with a solution of lemon juice.
The Three Essential Ingredients of Real Pickle
To get a delicious real pickle, it is enough to know the basic principles of its preparation. The broth can be cooked from beef, pork, chicken or fish.
The meat must be on the bone, the fish must be whole
It is important to remove the cooked meat from the bone and, cutting it into small pieces, add it to the soup at the end of cooking. Lovers of offal can make pickle with kidneys. First, they are soaked in water for several hours, after which they are boiled, cut and added to the dish at the beginning of cooking.
The second important component of the pickle is the cereal, which is chosen depending on the meat used in the soup. So, for the option with kidneys and beef, barley is suitable, and for a dish of chicken and turkey – rice. If you want to make a vegetarian pickle, then it is better to use a combination of two cereals – rice and buckwheat.
The third ingredient in the soup is pickles and roots.
Pickled cucumbers are peeled and seeds removed, cut into strips and added to the soup
For the preparation of pickle, carrots, onions, parsley and celery root are used. And the more roots, the more aromatic the dish turns out. Other herbs are generally not used. In addition to pickled cucumbers, residents of Siberia and the Trans-Urals add pickled mushrooms, mainly milk mushrooms, to the soup.
Classic Leningrad pickle
Leningrad pickle is considered a classic cooking option. If we briefly highlight its features, then this is a soup with beef brisket and pearl barley.
To make the dish aromatic and tasty, you will need: – beef broth, – 100 g of potatoes, – 30 g of pickled cucumbers and pearl barley, – 15 g of tomato puree, – 20 g of carrots, – 10 g of roots (celery, parsley) – margarine and sour cream.
Roots and onions cut into cubes should be sautéed in margarine, adding tomato puree to the end. Dip steamed pearl barley into boiling broth and cook for 30-40 minutes. After 15–20 minutes, add potatoes, sauteed vegetables, pickles and bay leaves into the soup pot. Cook the pickle until tender. Serve the pickle in deep bowls. Optionally, you can season with sour cream, garnish with herbs. Traditionally, this dish is served with pies, puff pastries or fresh crispy bread.