Pickle soup with squid and rice meatballs
4 servings
30 minutes
Pickle soup with squid and rice meatballs is an original interpretation of the classic Russian soup. Its roots go back centuries when sour cucumbers and brine were used to add rich flavor to dishes. In this recipe, traditional meat ingredients are replaced with tender squid meatballs, making the dish unusual and light. Pickles give the soup its characteristic sourness, while herbs and sour cream soften the taste, adding freshness. The soup is aromatic, rich, and warming, perfect for cold days. It can be served as a standalone dish or paired with rye bread. Pickle soup is a great example of combining traditional flavors with modern culinary innovations.

1
Wash the carrot, one onion, and roots, dry them, peel, and cut into thin strips. In a pan, melt butter and sauté the onion and roots until soft. Wash the potatoes, peel them, and cut into large cubes.
- Carrot: 1 piece
- Onion: 2 heads
- Parsley root: 3 g
- Celery root: 3 g
- Parsnip: 3 g
- Butter: 1 tablespoon
- Potato: 3 pieces
2
Peel the pickles, cut them lengthwise, remove the seeds, and shred them. Boil them in a small amount of water for 5-7 minutes, then drain the water.
- Pickles: 2 pieces
3
Put a pot of water on the fire, and while the water is boiling, prepare the meatballs. Boil rice in slightly salted water, drain, and cool. Cut the cleaned and thawed squid into small pieces, then pass through a meat grinder twice. Peel and chop one onion, then sauté in butter until soft. Wash, dry, and finely chop parsley and dill. In a deep bowl, pour in half a raw egg (first, mix the egg so that the yolk and white form a homogeneous mass). Add the boiled rice, squid mince, sautéed onion, and chopped greens to the egg. Mix all the ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and mix again thoroughly. Then shape the resulting mass into balls the size of a walnut.
- Rice: 1 tablespoon
- Squid: 100 g
- Onion: 2 heads
- Butter: 1 tablespoon
- Green: 70 g
- Chicken egg: 0.5 piece
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
4
Place the fried vegetables and chopped potatoes in boiling water and cook for about five minutes until the potatoes are half-cooked. Then add pickles, meatballs, bay leaf, and peppercorns to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for another 10 minutes. Pour in the boiled strained cucumber brine and let it simmer for a couple more minutes.
- Potato: 3 pieces
- Pickles: 2 pieces
- Black peppercorns: 4 pieces
- Bay leaf: to taste
5
Pour the ready rassolnik into plates, add sour cream to each plate, and sprinkle with finely chopped greens on top.
- Sour cream: 4 tablespoons
- Green: 70 g









