Lamb pickle soup
10 servings
240 minutes
Rassolnik with lamb is a traditional dish of Russian cuisine, distinguished by its rich taste and aroma. The roots of this soup go back centuries when housewives used brine from pickles to give food a special sourness. The base of the dish is lamb broth filled with tender pearl barley, soft potatoes, and sautéed vegetables. The main note is set by pickled cucumbers, creating a unique balance of flavors—from light acidity to the spicy richness of spices. Rassolnik perfectly warms in cold weather and pairs well with rye bread and sour cream. Its thick texture makes it not just a soup but a complete, hearty dish valued for its rich flavor and traditional origin.
1
Before you start boiling the broth, soak the pearl barley in hot water.
- Pearl barley: 100 g
2
We boil broth from lamb rolls (I took 4 rolls), after 1.5 hours of boiling, we need to salt the broth, add bay leaf, black pepper, half a carrot, onion (after the broth is cooked, don't forget to remove the carrot and onion), and if you, like me, didn't soak the pearl barley beforehand, add it to the broth.
- Lamb fillet: 250 g
- Bay leaf: to taste
- Black peppercorns: to taste
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Onion: 3 pieces
- Pearl barley: 100 g
3
After 3 hours of boiling the broth, we start sautéing the vegetables: slice the onion into half rings, grate the carrot, and you can remove the seeds and peel the salted cucumbers.
- Onion: 3 pieces
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Pickles: 3 pieces
4
After 3.5 hours of boiling the broth, we add potatoes and season with salt.
- Potato: 3 pieces
- Salt: to taste
5
Once the potatoes are cooked, we add the sautéed vegetables and check the brine for salt.
- Onion: 3 pieces
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Pickles: 3 pieces
- Salt: to taste