History of the dish
At the end of the 15th century, Rus' knew nothing about tomatoes. In today's technological map for preparing mixed meat hodgepodge, tomato paste is used. Initially, the soup was prepared not with cucumber, but with cabbage brine. Our ancestors, of course, did not suspect the existence of lemons, olives and capers.
The technological map of the meat hodgepodge was very simple - everything that the hostess scraped together. Historians suspect that the dish was invented by the owners of taverns and inns. The hodgepodge included waste from cold cuts, leftover snacks from the tables of wealthy clients, and other unnecessary products. All ingredients were finely chopped and stewed in cabbage brine with added water. Poor people loved the stew; it satisfied hunger for a long time and cost only a few kopecks.
Many simple and cheap dishes in different countries have gained wide popularity these days. For example, Italian pizza, Japanese sushi, German stewed cabbage with sausages.
There is an interesting legend associated with Russian solyanka. A state councilor came into the kitchen early in the morning. The official was in a terrible hurry, since he had drunk too much the day before and risked being late for work in St. Petersburg if he did not leave soon. But he was tormented by a hangover and hunger, so the adviser decided to eat first. There was only one tavern in that area, where he went.
The clock showed five o'clock in the morning, the cook was sleeping. In the cold room there was only a pot with yesterday's hodgepodge, and the official did not want to wait. The innkeeper took a chance and served the man a dish. Fortunately, the soup eased the hangover of the state councilor, the sourness of the pickle quenched his thirst, and the rich meat broth quenched his hunger. Upon arrival in the capital, the official enthusiastically told his colleagues about the wonderful soup as the best cure for a hangover. This is how hodgepodge gained popularity and a variety of flavors. The stew was cooked in fish broth, dried mushrooms, fried garlic and other products were added. Each chef has his own recipe for the most delicious solyanka.
One could find turnips in the Domostroevskaya solyanka, since Peter I brought potatoes to Russia two hundred years later. Root vegetables were actively used in Soviet canteens; such additives significantly reduced the cost of soup. In the technological map of the classic meat hodgepodge, potatoes are not used at all.
Classic recipe
The technological map of the meat hodgepodge includes a list of necessary products, indicating the weight and the order of preparation of the dish.
The finished soup must comply with the requirements of the Customs Union Regulations “On Food Safety” (TR CU 021/2011). Storage conditions and periods, sale of finished dishes are subject to the requirements of SanPin 2.3.2.1324-03, SanPin 2.3.6.1079-01.
Required Products:
Name of raw materials gross weight (g) net weight (g) output (g) Veal 95 63 40 Beef 110 81 50 Smoked-boiled ham 53 40 40 Frankfurters or sausages 41 40 40 Beef kidneys 121 104 50 Onion 119 100 — Pickles 100 60 — Capers 40 20 — Olives 50 50 — Tomato paste 50 50 — Butter 24 20 — Bouillon 750 750 750 Lemon 16 10 — Sour cream 60 60 — The weight of the finished hodgepodge is 1000 grams.
Classic solyanka recipe in a slow cooker
The multicooker has long become an indispensable assistant in the kitchen: it is used for cooking, frying and baking. Solyanka was no exception; the slow cooker makes a very tasty soup, and it’s also easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
- Pickled cucumbers – 140g.
- Onions – 150g.
- Ham – 150g.
- Smoked sausage – 150g.
- Smoked meats – 200g.
- Pearl barley – 140g.
- Tomato paste – 2 tbsp.
- Olives, salt - to taste
- Lemon and herbs - on plates
Let's start with pearl barley. We wash the cereal under running water and pour boiling water over it.
Cut the onion into small cubes. We also finely cut all meat products into cubes or strips. Cut the ribs along the bone.
In general, as meat products you can use absolutely anything you find in the refrigerator, or whatever you want to suit your taste. The amount of meat is also indicated approximately, you can put at least twice as much.
Cut the cucumbers into small cubes.
Place the onions and meat products into the multicooker bowl, except for the ribs, which we will add a little later. Set the “Frying” mode. Stirring the contents, fry for 7-8 minutes. After 7-8 minutes, add cucumbers and a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste to the bowl.
Stir and fry for another couple of minutes. Then turn off the “Frying” mode, and add pearl barley, previously drained on a sieve, to the bowl. Add about a teaspoon of salt and toss in the smoked ribs. Pour hot water, about 2.5 liters, and close the multicooker bowl.
Set the “Soup” mode and time to 1 hour.
There are multicookers in which there is no “Soup” mode. You can replace it with the “Quenching” mode.
In one hour the hodgepodge will be ready. Open the lid and throw in the olives cut in half. Close the lid and leave on heat for 5-10 minutes.
After the time has passed, pour the soup into plates, put a slice of lemon and a spoon of sour cream in each. Sprinkle with chopped herbs.
As you can see, cooking hodgepodge in a slow cooker is even easier than in a pan on the stove. What will the taste be like? And you try...
Bon appetit!
Preparation
The products need to be prepared: remove the skin from large cucumbers and remove the seeds. If the vegetables are small and the skin is thin, you don’t have to remove them. Cut the cucumbers into strips and simmer. Sauté peeled and finely chopped onions together with tomato paste. Cut the lemon without peel into slices, peel the olives and rinse them.
Boil the meat and offal, strain the broth, and cut the meat into slices. To add spice to the soup, you can add cucumber pickle. Bring the broth to a boil and add vegetables, meat products, salt and spices. After five minutes, turn off the stove and let the hodgepodge brew.
According to the technological map of the meat hodgepodge, you need to put black olives, lemon, and sour cream on the plate with the finished dish.
How to cook real meat solyanka? Seven secrets of the perfect dish
Now you will learn 7 secrets of preparing this favorite Russian dish.
The first secret is to cook the right beef broth. Pour a kilogram of beef shoulder with cold water and place on the lowest heat. Gradually, foam will form on top - scale, which must be carefully removed. The broth should be simmered for 2-3 hours over low heat, maintaining a low simmer - the surface of the liquid should only tremble slightly. A very important detail: this meat broth does not need to be salted! When the broth is ready, the meat should be removed from it, and the broth itself should be strained into a large saucepan in which the hodgepodge will be collected. You need to choose a pan of such volume that it contains 1/5 of the broth.
Photo: Depositphotos
Second secret : special attention should be paid to preparing beef kidneys - without this component you won’t get a real hodgepodge. Beef kidneys (2-3 pieces) need to be washed, cut into 4-5 pieces and cut out the inner white veins. Then soak them in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water 2-3 times. Next, you need to rinse the kidneys again, add cold water and cook. When boiling, a very large cap of foam forms on the surface, so the first water must be drained along with the scale, the buds should be washed, and left to cook for about 30 minutes until ready. The finished buds must be removed from the water in which they were boiled, cooled, and cut into thin leaves and store in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Photo: Depositphotos
The third secret is cooking pickles. Barrel cucumbers are very good for hodgepodge; they can be bought at the market. Next, you need to cut about five cucumbers into thin strips, put them in a pan, pour water two fingers above the surface of the cucumber mass and cook after boiling for about an hour.
Photo: Depositphotos
The fourth secret is proper frying of onions and tomato paste. 5-6 onions should be cut into half rings and fried in vegetable oil, adding a spoonful of granulated sugar. After 10 minutes, add tomato paste (not ketchup or tomato sauce, but paste, for example, Pomodorka, about 100 g). Now you need to simmer the onion with tomato paste, adding a little water to achieve the integration of all components with each other. The result should be a sticky tomato-onion mass.
Photo: Depositphotos
The fifth secret and golden rule of solyanka is high-quality meat components, cut into thin strips. Here it would be appropriate to use meat from the broth, and beef kidneys, and pork carbonate, and semi-smoked sausage such as “Krakow”, and sausages. Take 100 g of different meat products according to your taste.
The sixth secret is assembling the hodgepodge. In a saucepan with broth you need to add pickles along with the broth, chopped meat products, tomato and onion mass, 1 can of black olives and brine. You can take olives with a pit (it is considered more correct) or without a pit - whichever you prefer. A tablespoon of capers will also add its flavor, but this component is not necessary. Now it became clear why the broth was not salted during cooking: there are already enough salty ingredients here.
Photo: Depositphotos
Perhaps the most important secret : the collected hodgepodge must be boiled for literally 5-7 minutes and allowed to brew under the lid. Ideally, it should be cooled and left in the refrigerator until tomorrow.
While the hodgepodge is infusing, you have time to invite your family or friends to lunch tomorrow and chill a decanter of vodka or homemade liqueur.
By the way, hodgepodge is never eaten on one plate, so advice: take a larger pan!
Tags: solyanka, meat dish, meat broth, cooking secret, Russian dish
Interesting facts about solyanka
One serving of this dish contains a daily dose of vitamins and microelements necessary for the body to function properly. Solyanka perfectly relieves hangover syndrome due to its concentrated broth. The necessary salt balance is restored, thereby helping the liver remove toxins faster. The protein contained in meat and sausages provides the influx of energy that a person needs in such a state.
In the 15th century, fish solyanka was most often prepared and the dish was always consumed at feasts and feasts. The fatty broth did not allow the guest to get drunk quickly. For this soup they used sturgeon fish, just like for the royal fish soup.
If you don’t have cucumbers or sauerkraut on hand, you can add pickled honey mushrooms to the hodgepodge. Other mushrooms are also used. This soup will contain not only the entire set of vitamins, but also antioxidants. These substances help maintain skin elasticity by removing free radicals from cells and retaining moisture.
