Michi
I dislike attempts to rewrite history
Soljanka (or solyanka) is originally from Russia and the Ukraine. It is reminiscent of goulash soup, but is made with smoked and cured meats, with added lacto-fermented gherkins to give it a slightly sour note. There are many variations of this dish. This version was very popular in the former East Germany. It's a nice winter warmer that sticks to your ribs.
Tips:
Preparation:
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, chives, a wedge of lemon to squeeze into the soup, and toasted buttered rye bread.
Tips:
- For the gherkins, use lacto-fermented gherkins ("Salzgurken" in German). Gherkins pickled in vinegar are too sour. If you can't find plain lacto-fermented gherkins, Polish dill-pickled cucumbers will work. Use something that is not too strong in flavour.
- For the meats, pretty much anything cured (and preferably smoked) goes. This started out as a "raid the fridge" dish, so any left-over cold cuts will work. Pastrami, salami, ham, bacon, smoked speck, mortadella, cabanossi, pepperoni, pork loin, frankfurter—all good.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a lemon wedge, and buttered rye bread.
- Olive oil
- 125 g Onion
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 50 g Tomato paste
- 750 g Cured and smoked meats. Use three to four different kinds of meats in about equal proportions. ¼ of the meats should be salami.
- 125 g Red capsicum (bell pepper)
- 400 g Tomato purée (passata)
- 400 g Lecsó
- 50 g Lacto-fermented gherkins. Avoid vinegar-pickled gherkins; they are too sour. Polish dill gherkins would probably work well because they are mild. Or make your own, it's easy to do.
- 150 g Gherkin brine
- 50 g Tomato paste
- 500 g Water, or vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 10 Allspice berries
- 4 Bay leaves
- 1 tsp chilli powder (ancho chilli is good, but any chilli powder or smoked hot paprika will work)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Sour cream
- Chives for garnish
Preparation:
- Chop half of the onion into dice, cut the remainder into strips.
- Cut all the meats into small sticks, about lardon-sized (0.5 x 0.5 x 2.5 cm).
- Sweat the diced onion in olive oil with a good pinch of salt until they just start to brown (but don’t let them go dark).
- Add the tomato paste and the finely-chopped garlic and cook the tomato paste until it changes colour a little and no longer has a metallic taste.
- Add the meats and cook on medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally to coat everything with the tomato paste and onions.
- Cut the capsicum into small strips, about the same size as the meats and add capsicum and onion strips to the meats. Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until soft and some liquid builds up.
- Add mustard seeds, diced gherkins, brine, Lecsó, and water or stock.
- Put the crushed allspice berries and bay leaves into a tea egg, or use a disposable cotton mesh bag or similar and add to the soup.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1.5 hours. Add water as needed if the soup gets too thick. You should have a slightly thick and not too runny soup.
- Adjust seasoning with salt, black pepper, and chilli. The soup should have a slightly sour taste. If needed, add a little more gherkin brine.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, chives, a wedge of lemon to squeeze into the soup, and toasted buttered rye bread.
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