Solyanka (A Russian Soup)
Solyanka is a Russian soup. I based my recipe on a Solyanka recipe I happened to stumbled across on foodista.com, and thought my hubby may like (as he has an obsession with pickled onions, and the soup features pickled cucumbers). According to a number of sites, you can vary the meat to whatever you like, but the more variety the better. He liked it so much that when I asked if he thought it was a good idea to serve it to guests as a entree the following night, he said he wanted leftovers to himself :-) What a sweetie, hehe.
Ingredients (Serves 4)
* 400g Beef rump steak
* 200 grams smoked bacon, diced
* 2 sausages (any kind)
* 500g pickled cucumbers, diced
* 1 brown onion, diced
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
* 1 tomato, peeled and diced
* 1 cup olives, sliced
* Season-all
* Ground Pepper
* Ground Sea Salt
* 3 Bay Leaves
* Approx 2 teaspoons of dill (1 for cooking, rest for optional garnish)
* Capers (to garnish)
* Sour cream (to garnish)
* Lemon slices (to garnish)
Directions
1. Put steak in a pot with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until done. Remove the steak and dice, then return to the pot with heat off.
2. Fry bacon lightly, and add to the pot.
3. Fry sausages, slice, and add to the pot.
4. Fry onion with a sprinkle of season-all until translucent. Add tomato paste and cucumbers, and stir fry the mixture for a few minutes.
5. Add cup of stock to the pan and simmer for about 5 min.
6. Pour tomato-cucumber mixture into the pot together with a teaspoon of dill and the bay leaves, and bring to a slow boil. Just before it boils, add the olives and tomato.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste whilst cooking.
8. Serve, if desired, with a dollop sour cream, a teaspoon of capers, lemon slices and a sprinkle of dill.