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Amounts are approximate.
Rassolnik
About 500 g (1 pound) chicken giblets (gizzards and hearts)
About 500 g (1 pound) chicken wings
About 4 l (4 quarts) water
200 g (about 7 ounces) pearl barley
10 sour pickles cubed
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 parsley root, scraped and julienned
1 celery root, peeled, trimmed and julienned
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 large leek, white and pale green only, chopped
3 bay leaves
black peppercorns
6 smallish potatoes, peeled and cubed
Pickle brine as needed, and/or to taste, about 1 quart, to my taste
some parsley leaves
some dill
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Ground allspice, to taste
Sour cream
Put the giblets and wings in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the
boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, leek,
parsley and celery roots, and peppercorns, and continue to simmer gently
for 30 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, put pearl barley in a saucepan, cover with boiling water,
cover tightly and let stand for 1 hour. Strain and briefly rinse under
running water.
Add the pearl barley to the soup and cook for 15-20 minutes or until
not quite ready. Add the potatoes and bay leaves and cook for 10
minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pickles in some of their brine until soft.
Add the pickles and the brine to the soup and cook for 10 minutes
longer. Add more pickle brine to taste and bring to the boil again.
Taste for seasoning, adding pepper and/or pickle brine to taste.
Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, as well as parsley and dill in
each plate.
NOTES:
Rassolnik, soup made with sour (lactic-acid fermented) pickles
(cucumbers) and sour-pickle juice, is one of the soups emblematic of the
Russian cuisine. Such a soup may perhaps sound strange to those
unacquainted with it, but it is one of the great soups of the world.
The premise of using pickles and pickle brine in the soup is of course
the same as that of sauerkraut and sauerkraut brine and is not really
anything exotic or unusual. The best rassolnik versions are made with
beef- or veal kidneys, but versions with poultry giblets are good, too.
This general kind of soup is also known in Poland as zupa ogórkowa.
Notice that the soup has to be made with true fermented sour pickles and
their brine. Do not try to use anything containing vinegar! The soup
should ideally not be salted, but instead pickle brine should be added
as needed. So, enough pickle brine should be available, which in
practice, in my case at least, means that it should be saved and
accumulated in a jar in the refrigerator. It keeps well if a bit of
mustard flour (1/2 - 1 teaspoon) is added to the brine, as it keeps it
from getting mouldy.
Yesterday, I cooked a big pot of rassolnik with chicken giblets. I had
to use a whole jar (about 1 l/1 quart) of saved pickle juice - which is
why I do not get to cook this soup very often.
Rassolnik
About 500 g (1 pound) chicken giblets (gizzards and hearts)
About 500 g (1 pound) chicken wings
About 4 l (4 quarts) water
200 g (about 7 ounces) pearl barley
10 sour pickles cubed
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 parsley root, scraped and julienned
1 celery root, peeled, trimmed and julienned
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 large leek, white and pale green only, chopped
3 bay leaves
black peppercorns
6 smallish potatoes, peeled and cubed
Pickle brine as needed, and/or to taste, about 1 quart, to my taste
some parsley leaves
some dill
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Ground allspice, to taste
Sour cream
Put the giblets and wings in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the
boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, leek,
parsley and celery roots, and peppercorns, and continue to simmer gently
for 30 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, put pearl barley in a saucepan, cover with boiling water,
cover tightly and let stand for 1 hour. Strain and briefly rinse under
running water.
Add the pearl barley to the soup and cook for 15-20 minutes or until
not quite ready. Add the potatoes and bay leaves and cook for 10
minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pickles in some of their brine until soft.
Add the pickles and the brine to the soup and cook for 10 minutes
longer. Add more pickle brine to taste and bring to the boil again.
Taste for seasoning, adding pepper and/or pickle brine to taste.
Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, as well as parsley and dill in
each plate.
NOTES:
Rassolnik, soup made with sour (lactic-acid fermented) pickles
(cucumbers) and sour-pickle juice, is one of the soups emblematic of the
Russian cuisine. Such a soup may perhaps sound strange to those
unacquainted with it, but it is one of the great soups of the world.
The premise of using pickles and pickle brine in the soup is of course
the same as that of sauerkraut and sauerkraut brine and is not really
anything exotic or unusual. The best rassolnik versions are made with
beef- or veal kidneys, but versions with poultry giblets are good, too.
This general kind of soup is also known in Poland as zupa ogórkowa.
Notice that the soup has to be made with true fermented sour pickles and
their brine. Do not try to use anything containing vinegar! The soup
should ideally not be salted, but instead pickle brine should be added
as needed. So, enough pickle brine should be available, which in
practice, in my case at least, means that it should be saved and
accumulated in a jar in the refrigerator. It keeps well if a bit of
mustard flour (1/2 - 1 teaspoon) is added to the brine, as it keeps it
from getting mouldy.
Yesterday, I cooked a big pot of rassolnik with chicken giblets. I had
to use a whole jar (about 1 l/1 quart) of saved pickle juice - which is
why I do not get to cook this soup very often.