It is difficult to say how many recipes there are in our time for a wonderful first course - pickle. But the fact that this soup is popularly loved is indisputable. Probably every self-respecting housewife has her own favorite recipe, and any good chef of a decent restaurant is ready to please guests with this spicy dish.
How not to get lost among such an abundance of recipes? How to prepare a pickle for family people so that everyone remains full and satisfied? Which way to choose? If you do not yet know the answers to these questions, just want to fill up the cookbook with a couple of new products or are interested in the history of Russian cuisine, our article will definitely come in handy.
Dish history
There are such dishes that many peoples consider to be native. Take, for example, dumplings: how many countries are claiming the title of their historical homeland! With the pickle, things are different - all over the world this hearty treat is considered primordially Russian.
The tradition of using brine for cooking is rooted in hoary antiquity. Probably, the old cooks of Russia intuitively understood that this liquid is a real elixir, rich in trace elements, vitamins and antioxidants. But the pickle has a predecessor - hookah, in which, in addition to cucumbers and brine, added fish or caviar.
Unfortunately, historians cannot establish the exact date when they began to prepare brine soup with offal, but it is known for certain that already in the 17th century this dish was widespread and was not considered a novelty.
It is logical to assume that the dish is several centuries older, as far back as the 16th German ambassador traveling in Russia was simply dumbfounded by the volume of the crop of cucumbers. And by that time, the Russians already had vast experience in pickling mushrooms, and it is likely that they grew cucumbers in such quantities not only for summer snacks, but also for harvesting for the future. The search for truth is also hindered by the ancient word "kalya", which in many regions was used to name absolutely any broth with brine.
The word “pickle” itself appeared in Russian dictionaries only in the 19th century. It is interesting that during the time of Gogol, this word also referred to as a buckwheat pie, eggs and pickles, which, by the way, also introduces confusion.
So, the date of the appearance of the recipe we are unlikely to ever know. But then, modern cooking lovers are well aware of how to cook pickle. It’s great that such a wonderful recipe has not been lost for centuries.
Ancient food
It is well known that the ancient recipes have not undergone so many changes. In Russia, various products were used for this soup.
- Pearl barley was perfect for offal (kidneys, heart).
- Tender poultry meat combined with rice.
- The game meat, which has an expressive taste, was in perfect harmony with the delicate oatmeal.
According to the same algorithm, many modern chefs prefer to act.
In the old days in Russia, potatoes, turnips, onions, carrots, roots, herbs, aromatic spices were put in pickle. It should be noted that rice and potatoes are relatively young components of Russian cuisine. Before potatoes became widespread, healthy and flavorful turnips were widely used in cooking.
The meat was put together with the bone, and only after the preparation of the broth the pulp was cut, chopped and returned to the soup. But the most solid and correct was considered a recipe with offal. They simply harmonize perfectly with pickles, and barley makes the food structure rich and interesting.
Modern chefs use roughly the same set of products to make pickle with pearl barley and pickles. But the choice of seasonings today, of course, is wider.
Rassolnik with cucumbers, kidneys and pearl barley - a classic of Russian cuisine
Since this option is so good and since ancient times loved by our people, then we will start with it. Let's see in detail how to cook pickle. A recipe with a photo will help to master this science even to a young hostess, well, or to a master who is in love with cooking.
Before starting work, prepare the necessary products, free the workplace from unnecessary items and be patient. This recipe will require a lot of time and effort, but when you evaluate the result, you realize that all efforts are more than rewarded.
Product proportions
Such food is not prepared in small portions. We will list the ingredients for a three liter pot. If necessary, you can proportionally increase the number of products to prepare a wonderful dinner for a large company.
We will need the following:
- pork kidneys - 2 pcs. (or one large beef);
- medium-sized pickled cucumbers - 3 pcs;
- potatoes - s;
- carrots and onions - 1 pc.;
- pearl barley - an incomplete glass;
- celery root, parsley, dill, bay leaf, black pepper, salt - to taste;
- brine;
- vegetable oil for frying.
Experienced chefs advise using quality filtered water for this soup. It is better to take cucumbers pickled, but pickled ones are also suitable (although in this case the soup will be more acidic, so you need to add much less brine).
Before cooking pickle with pickles, you will need to pre-treat some of the components.
Soaking Grains
Pearl barley is cooked for a long time. It will be better if you take care of it in advance. This will not only save time for preparing the soup, but also have a positive effect on its texture: the remaining components will not be digested.
Rinse the barley, changing the water several times. Pour the cereal with clean cold water and leave for several hours. You can do this in the evening.
Kidney cutting and pre-boiling
Of course, it’s easier to make pickle soup with ordinary meat, but any cook can be proud of the food with kidneys prepared according to all the canons. True, offal will have to tinker with.
Cut the kidneys along, cut the ureters. Use a sharp knife to remove the light parts of the tub. Cut the halves into pieces, rinse under running water.
Boil the kidneys for about an hour, several times draining the broth and pouring offal with clean water. It is important to remember that the liquid in which this product was prepared should in no case be used for cooking. The broth is just poured.
This stage is important because the kidneys initially have a not very pleasant smell. During boiling, it disappears.
Vegetable preparation
To cook pickle, it is better to choose cucumbers young, crispy. Since ancient times, such fortified men have enjoyed special honor. Cut them, without removing the peel, into circles or cubes.
Peel, rinse and cut the potatoes as you normally do when cooking soup.
How to make pickle
Load the barley into boiling water, and when it boils until half-cooked (the kernels begin to open), add the potatoes and kidneys. Celery and bay leaf are also added at this stage, but so far it is absolutely impossible to salt the dish.
Finely chop the carrots and onions and fry until golden. Pour the brine into the roasting, let it boil.
Many housewives add some tomato paste or homemade tomato to the roasting. This is an optional ingredient that does not affect the taste too much, but makes the color of the dish more expressive and pleasant.
When the potatoes are boiled, but have not yet begun to decay, add the roast and cucumbers to the soup. Try the broth after boiling, adjust the salt, add seasoning. Young greens are added immediately after removing the pan from the heat.
Ready pickle should be allowed to brew. Cover it, wrap it in a towel if possible. Leave the pickle for a quarter of an hour so that all the flavors are mixed and the taste is fully revealed.
Lenten recipe with mushrooms
But did you know that you can cook pickle with barley, cucumbers and aromatic mushrooms even during church fasting? This dish can be a real find: it is rich in vitamins, and its taste is in no way inferior to high-quality options with meat.
Let's look at how to cook a delicious pickle without meat ingredients.
For the recipe, we need mushrooms. Of course, you can get by with purchased mushrooms and oyster mushrooms, but if you manage to get real forest ones, this is just fine.
As in the previous case, start with pearl barley. Let it swell a little in the water, but for now we will deal with mushrooms. A quarter kilogram of forest treasures will be needed for the indicated quantity of products.
Check if any forest dweller is hiding in the pulp. Clean hats and legs from forest dust, needles and grass, cut off dark spots with a knife, as shown in the photo.
You can also prepare pickle for the lean menu from dried mushrooms. Before laying in the broth, they are poured with boiling water for 1 hour, and then added to the soup along with this water.
If you use raw porcini mushrooms, you can not boil them beforehand, but immediately load them into the soup. Forest mushrooms, mushrooms, butterfish, traps and mushrooms must first be boiled (half an hour). Primary mushroom broth is not used in cooking, since all the harmful substances that the mushrooms absorb like air from the air pass into the liquid. Do not worry, your pickle will receive a sufficient amount of mushroom taste and unique aroma, which happens only with the gifts of the forest.
Load pearl barley into the broth, boil a little, add potatoes and mushrooms. Lastly, add the roast to the soup, prepared as for the previous recipe.
In such a soup, do not put too sharp seasonings. Limit yourself to young parsley and black pepper.
Recipe with Pork, Beef
Ribs are great for this rich soup, but you can use any other part of the pork carcass. The meat is laid in cold water without cutting into pieces and without removing bones. You will need a piece with a total weight of 300-400 grams. When boiling meat, be sure to remove the noise, otherwise the soup will turn out ugly.
Pour pre-soaked pearl barley at this time. After waiting for half-preparedness, add the potatoes, and after the next boiling, chopped pickles. When the meat is completely cooked, remove it from the broth and set aside to cool.
For cooking, onions, carrots and tomato paste are used. When the vegetables are fried to a golden hue, add an incomplete glass of brine with the paste dissolved in it. Put out a few minutes.
Add the meat, chopped into small pieces, into the soup. If the soup is too thick, you can restore the volume of liquid only with boiling water. Never attempt to add raw water.
After adding the roast, reduce the heat, occasionally stir the food, slowly bring it to a boil. The process should not be too stormy, watch out for the fire. If you want to spice up the dish, you can add half a pod of hot pepper to the pan.
A harmonious addition will be young greens, chopped as small as possible.
Cover the pan, remove from heat, leave for a quarter of an hour so that the pickle is infused. This sumptuous soup with aromatic meat broth can be perfect even for a festive menu. You can serve such food, for example, on Easter.
Chicken Rice Pickle
As you can easily guess, most of the traditional pickle options can hardly be called diet dishes. But there is a lighter alternative, which, by the way, is easier to prepare.
For this recipe we will need the following set of products:
- chicken meat - 500 g;
- rice or rice section - ¾ cup;
- potatoes - 250 g;
- carrot and bulb;
- pickles - 200 g;
- green peas (canned) - 2 tbsp. l .;
- cooking oil;
- salt, black pepper to taste;
- young dill - half a bunch;
- cucumber pickle - an incomplete glass (depending on salinity, severity and your preference).
If you decide to cook a pickle with rice, pay attention to the sequence of bookmarking products. She is very different.
The fact is that potatoes are cooked longer than rice, which means that it is the vegetable that must go to the pan first.
It is advisable to cook the meat in advance in order to use the broth for further cooking. At this time, it is better to take out the tender chicken, otherwise it will simply break up into fibers.
As soon as you notice that the potato wedges become translucent, add the thoroughly washed rice to the broth. While the cereal is boiling, sort the meat into fibers or cut into slices. If you want to reduce the calorie content of the dish, use a skinless breast, and if you prefer hearty soups, you can prepare a pickle with chicken thighs or drumsticks.
While the broth is cooked, do the frying: just fry the carrot and onion slices in oil, and add the brine at the very end.
Load the meat and frying in the soup, add green peas and finely chopped dill. Adjust the amount of salt if necessary, add a little pepper.
Serving and serving
Since pickle is a rich history dish, linen napkins, folk style dishes, wicker bread baskets can be used for entourage.
This soup goes well with black and rye bread, homemade cakes. Do not forget about fresh herbs, garlic. It is permissible to serve the pickle as a hot appetizer for strong alcohol.