Solyanka
4 servings
130 minutes
Another hit of Soviet canteens is solyanka soup. It is called a sbornaya for its impressive set of ingredients. It is also a good set of flavors: sourness from tomatoes, sweetness from onions fried in oil, salt from gherkins. The broth with a thin fatty film achieves its richness thanks to fatty beef on the bone and smoked sausages. In general, you can throw any sausage and meat trimmings that are in the refrigerator into the solyanka. The greater the variety of meat, the richer the taste. In the cold season, it is better to use canned pelati tomatoes in their own juice to prepare solyanka - besides, they are already peeled.
1
Chop the carrot coarsely and lightly fry it with half a large onion in a grill pan. Place the vegetables in a pot, add meat and bone, pour in 1.5 liters of water, and after boiling, cook for about one and a half hours until the meat is ready. Five minutes before it's done, add bay leaf and peppercorns.
- Carrot: 100 g
- Onion: 1 head
- Beef: 150 g
- Beef bones: 400 g
- Bay leaf: 2 pieces
- Black peppercorns: to taste
2
Remove the meat and set it aside to cool. If it was on the bone, slice it when it cools. Strain the broth. Chop the remaining onion - the finer, the better.
- Onion: 1 head
3
Place canned peeled tomatoes (i.e., without skin and in their own juice) in a suitable container and blend into a puree. You can use tomato paste, but it won't taste as good.
- Pelati tomatoes: 500 g
4
Cut the butter into small pieces and melt it in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown. The taste of the solyanka depends on the onion: if it's undercooked, the soup will have a noticeable raw onion flavor. The main task is to evaporate moisture and caramelize the sugar in it.
- Butter: 25 g
- Onion: 1 head
5
Place tomato puree in a saucepan and mix thoroughly. Cover with a lid and simmer for twenty minutes. Cut the gherkins (or just pickles) into small cubes and boil them in a small pot for about twenty minutes after boiling, so they won't be too tough.
- Pelati tomatoes: 500 g
- Gherkins: 60 g
6
Cut the ham, sausages, and boiled meat into small cubes. In general, you can use any cold cuts or meat found in the fridge.
- Boiled ham: 400 g
- Veal sausages: 400 g
7
Bring the broth to a boil, add onion and tomato puree. When it boils again, add meat, sausages, and ham, as well as gherkins and capers. Keep on the heat for about five minutes, season with salt and sugar to taste. If the tomatoes are very sweet, you can skip the sugar. Instead of salt, use the liquid from the capers or olives.
- Onion: 1 head
- Pelati tomatoes: 500 g
- Boiled ham: 400 g
- Veal sausages: 400 g
- Gherkins: 60 g
- Capers: 60 g
- Salt: to taste
- Sugar: 10 g
8
Place pitted olives and lemon wedges on a plate. Pour the brine, add a spoonful of sour cream and a bit of finely chopped parsley.
- Olives: 12 pieces
- Olive: 12 pieces
- Lemon: 4 pieces
- Sour cream: 4 tablespoons
- Parsley: 10 g