Rassolnik

Ingredients

Broth

• 700 gbeef brisket or short rib, on the bone
• or 400 g beef kidneys, for the traditional version
• 2 litreswater
• 1bay leaf
• 1 tsppeppercorns

Barley

• 120 gpearl barley

Pickles

• 4large salted cucumbers, diced
• 200 mlpickle brine, rassol

Vegetables

• 3potatoes, diced
• 1onion, chopped
• 1carrot, grated
• 1parsley root, diced, optional
• 3 tbspbutter or oil

To finish

• sour cream
• chopped dill
• black pepper

To serve

• rye bread

Directions

1. Boil them for 10 minutes, throw that water away, rinse them and start again with fresh water. For the beef version, simmer the meat with bay and peppercorns for about an hour and a half, skimming.
2. Skim it properly, because this is a clear soup and every fault shows. Lift the meat out, strain the broth, and chop the meat. Rinse the pearl barley and boil it in fresh water for 40 minutes until tender, then drain it. Cook the barley apart from the soup, always.
3. Fry the onion, carrot and parsley root in butter until soft and golden. Now the pickles: dice them and cook them separately in a little broth for 10 minutes. Bring the strained broth to a simmer and add the potatoes.
4. Cook the potatoes until nearly tender, about 12 minutes, before anything sour goes in. Potatoes will not soften properly in an acidic liquid, so they must be most of the way cooked first.
5. Simmer everything together for 10 minutes more. Add the brine a little at a time. Brines vary enormously in salt and sourness, and it is easy to go too far and impossible to come back.
6. Bring it just to a simmer after the brine goes in and no further. The soup should be clearly sour and salty, with the barley soft and the broth still reasonably clear. Season with black pepper and taste before adding any salt at all, because the brine and pickles bring plenty. Rest it off the heat 10 minutes.
7. Serve hot with a spoonful of sour cream stirred in at the table and plenty of dill. The sour cream goes into the bowl rather than the pot, because it splits if boiled.

Technique

• Kidney rassolnik is the older and more traditional version, and beef is the common modern one.
• Rice or buckwheat replace barley in some regional versions.
• A vegetarian version with mushrooms is entirely ordinary.

Substitutions

• Fermented salted cucumbers from a Polish or Russian shop.
• Rice in place of pearl barley, cooked separately the same way.

Variations

• Made with beef kidneys, which is the traditional version.
• Leningradsky rassolnik, with pearl barley and beef.
• Vegetarian, with mushrooms.

History

Soup soured with pickle brine and thickened with barley; rassol means brine, and the soup descends from medieval kalya.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rassolnik?

Rassolnik is a soup & stew from Russia: pickle and barley soup, tangy and warming. Soup soured with pickle brine and thickened with barley; rassol means brine, and the soup descends from medieval kalya.

How long does Rassolnik take to make?

Rassolnik takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Rassolnik?

Yes, within limits. Fermented salted cucumbers from a Polish or Russian shop. Rice in place of pearl barley, cooked separately the same way.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rassolnik?

Cook the potatoes until nearly tender, about 12 minutes, before anything sour goes in. Potatoes will not soften properly in an acidic liquid, so they must be most of the way cooked first.