Soup Solyanka (Солянка)

I love soups. I can eat soup any time of day and for any season. It's a good thing that now Jeremy is so into that as well. He travelled to Russia a lot, and has tried my family's cooking over the years. Now he asks me to make him different soups. One of them is called Solyanka, Солянка in Russian.

This soup contains lots of meat, some vegetables, and spices. Be prepared: it takes quit some time to make it. But in the end, it's worth it.

Ingredients


Pork (with bones, e.g. Pork Chops or Shoulder) 3 Lbs/ 1,3-1,5 Kgs
Smoked Pork Sausage/Kielbassa or Smoked Ham 0,5 Lbs/ 200-250 g
Hot Dogs (8-10) or Bologna 1 Lb/ 0,5 Kgs
Dill Pickels 4-5
Onions 2
Salt 1 Tbsp
Potatoes 8
Tomato Paste 1 Tbsp
Bay Leaves and Pepper
Oil




Preparation


In a large pot, boil 2 gallons water (8-10 Liters), add pork (with bones) and salt to make a meat broth. Boil for 2 hours, periodically removing the frothy meat fat that collects on the top of the water.

While the meat is cooking, you'll have time to prepare all other products.












Meanwhile, prepare meats/vegetables, but don't begin cooking them until the broth is about 45 minutes from being done.







Cut dill pickles into small cubes, about 1/2" (1 cm) to a side. Add to a separate pot with some water and pickle juice that almost covers the diced pickles. Later, you'll boil the pickles about an hour to soften them, adding water so that it covers the pickles.

Dice the onions small and fry in a pan until soft and lightly browned. This only takes about a half hour so don't start too early. Add the tomato paste and a little water to mix everything together.













Cut the remaining meats into small cubes, about 1/2" (1 cm)  on a side. Fry smoked sausage a little while to draw out some fat and cook it a bit.






Peel and cut the potatoes into large pieces, about 1-1,5" (2-3 cm) on a side. Fry in a pan until lightly browned. It's not necessary to fully cook the potatoes now, because they'll be boiled in the soup later.

When the meat has finished cooking, remove the meat and cool. Separately, strain the broth to remove any chunks. I always do that because it makes the broth so clear, leaving it without any small bones or other things coming out from meat. Return the broth to its pot.

Once the pork has cooled enough to handle, use your hands to pull the meat off the bones, removing the fat, and then break the meat into small pieces that average 1" (2-3 cm) on a side.

At this point, everything you've cooked, including the onions and tomato paste, potatoes, pickles (with juice), and meat can be added back to the soup. Boil the soup until the potatoes and hot dogs/bologna are fully cooked.



Serve hot with a lemon slice and olive for flavor. Add a heaping spoonful of sour cream, mix it in well and add some pepper to taste.










Once again, one of my favorites.

Have a great day!


Anastasia Kalashnikova