Russian cuisine is famous for its first courses.The variety of soups, as well as the ability to vary the composition of ingredients, opens up unlimited scope for creative ideas. This fully applies to such a cult dish as classic solyanka. And the word "classic" should not scare you in any way. The main highlight of this dish is that the taste of solyanka will always be a little different, since it has many components, and their ratio changes every time. In other words, when we talk about such a concept as a classic solyanka recipe, we mean a certain basic set of products that are decisive for this dish. Everything else is your creative research and developments.
Classical meat solyanka
Products:
- 500-600 grams of beef or calf breast
- 2 chicken thighs
- 1 turkey shank
- 200 grams of ham
- 250 grams of sausages
- 200 grams of smoked bacon
- 2 onions
- 2 carrots
- 400 grams of salted cucumber
- 1 cup cucumber brine
- tomato paste
- olive oil
- bay leaf, black pepper and fragrant,
- capers, olives, lemon, greens
- sour cream
Method of preparation:Wash the meat thoroughly, put it in a large saucepan, add the onion, carrot, a couple of bay leaves, black and allspice and put it to boil. When the water boils, remove the foam and cook over low heat until the meat is fully cooked. Remove the meat, separate it from the bones and skin and put it in a separate bowl, strain the broth. Wash the pickles, peel and dice, chop the onion and carrot as well. Put the bay leaf, black and allspice in the frying pan, lightly fry everything in olive oil, add the onion and carrot and continue frying. Put the cucumbers in the vegetables, stew everything together for about 5 minutes, add the tomato paste, stir, pour in a little meat broth and cook under the lid for 7-10 minutes. Bring the broth to a boil, add the contents of the frying pan, pour in a glass of cucumber brine and wait until everything boils. Cut the boiled meat, ham, sausages and brisket and put them in a saucepan. Add capers, olives or black olives (or both), thinly sliced lemon and herbs. The solyanka is ready. Before serving, put a spoonful of sour cream in each plate. Notes to the recipe:
- The more varieties of meat and meat products used for the salted water, so it tastes better.
- As additives, you can use boiled pork, boiled-smoked ham, fried meat (in a frying pan or on a grill).
- Sour cream can be put directly into the pan immediately after preparation and mix thoroughly.
- Cucumbers must be firm, crisp, without any foreign flavors.
- Solyanka practically does not require salt, as it is enough in cucumbers and brine. If this is not enough, you can balance the taste at the very end.
Classical fish soup
Products:
- kilogram of fish (pike perch, salmon, trout, sturgeon)
- 2 onions
- 2 carrots,
- 400 grams of salted cucumber
- 1 cup cucumber brine
- tomato paste
- olive oil
- bay leaves, black pepper and fragrant
- capers, olives, lemon, greens
Method of preparation:Clean the fish, gut it, rinse it and separate the meat from the bones. Place the bones and head (remove the gills) in a saucepan, add the onion (it can be in the husk), carrots, dill and parsley stems, bay leaf and pepper, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for about an hour. Strain the broth, put it back on the heat, bring to a boil and add the prepared fish fillet. Cook for 7-10 minutes. Place the finished fish in a separate bowl. Rinse the pickles, peel and cut into cubes, cut the onion and carrots too. Place the bay leaf, black and allspice in the frying pan, lightly fry everything in olive oil, add the onion and carrots and continue frying. Add cucumbers to the vegetables, simmer everything together for about 5 minutes, add tomato paste, stir, pour in a little fish broth and cook under the lid for 7-10 minutes. Bring the broth to a boil, add the contents of the frying pan, pour in a glass of cucumber brine and wait until everything boils. Add capers, olives or olives (you can use both), thinly sliced lemon and herbs. Serve the dish as follows: put the fish fillet on a plate and pour over the prepared solyanka, you can sprinkle with finely chopped green onions. Notes:
- Solyanka can be cooked both from several varieties of fish, and from one.
- Fish solyanka is quite acceptable to cook without adding tomato paste.
- The more fresh the fish, the less spices put in the broth.
- Fish solyanka can be cooked with potatoes. In this case, the cucumber brine is added at the end of the preparation (before this it should be boiled).
Now you know how to cook meat solyanka andfish. Everything is quite simple. And the main component of the success of any dish is a positive attitude and the desire to please your loved ones. Enjoy your meal! We recommend reading:
