Field soup is a tasty and nutritious dish that can be prepared on a camping trip, in the country, and just at home. Serve it in reputable restaurants of national cuisine. The history of this dish goes back centuries, but it does not lose relevance today.
History reference
Once upon a time, this soup was cooked on bonfires during hayfields and other field work. And on long journeys, a rich soup with millet and lard was just a helping hand. But in the old days, people spent considerable time trying to overcome relatively small (by modern standards) distances. There is evidence that such a soup and Chumaki were respected - Cossacks who traded salt and transported it from deposits to many cities. The name that was usually used by them for this dish is preserved - kulesh. The path through the steppe is not easy and dangerous, and in the evening at the campfire you so want to eat something hearty and tasty. It was not always possible to hunt, and hunting is not possible in all places. But the salted fat and jerky, wrapped on the road by a caring mother or wife, are perfectly stored and are great for making a hearty kulesh from it on a long trip.
Recipes of field soup, of course, vary - after all, someone loves fatter, and someone does not like the smell of boiled lard, and there is not always the opportunity to pre-fry vegetables. But still, this dish, invented by our ancestors more than a century ago, deserves attention. So we will understand all the intricacies of its preparation.
Measure seven times ...
Speaking about the prototype of a modern field soup, it becomes clear that there can be no question of strict dosages. Usually, everything was sent to the cauldron and in the quantity that was available: a handful of millet, a couple of chopped potatoes, an onion, fat shmat. Is there a carrot or a bunch of greens? Great, also in the soup. A small piece of meat gave the brew a wonderful aroma and taste.
Today, the same principle is prepared by those who have long mastered field soup. But those who are just going to learn how to cook this dish should stick to the recommendations on the choice and quantity of products.
Classics of the genre
On average, the following foods will be required to make a two-liter pot of soup:
- lard - 100 g;
- potatoes - 3 pcs. medium size;
- millet - 0.5 tbsp;
- onions - 2 pcs.
- pepper, salt, bay leaf.
To prepare the roasting, grind the fat (cubes or thin strips), chop the onion. Fry together. Thoroughly washed millet is loaded into boiling water, after boiling add potatoes diced into cubes. Fry is sent to the broth for about 10 minutes until ready. Salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, you can sprinkle the dish with chopped herbs.
Feast of taste
Field soup can be prepared in special cases. It’s worth a little to diversify the recipe, and you get a wonderful dish. To the traditional pork fat add chicken tail (lamb), loin, bacon and much more.
In many families, field soup is highly respected, the recipe for which also includes pork ribs. To make the broth taste rich and expressive, before laying them, they are pre-fried together with onions and lard. Some people like to add finely grated carrots to the roasting - this gives not only taste and aroma, but also a golden hue. Smoked bacon gives an excellent result. By the way, for cooking kulesh, you can use not only pork. Lamb, veal, duck, turkey and rabbit meat are no worse.
Other unusual supplements are quite common. For example, you can cook field soup with an egg. To do this, add the hard-boiled chicken eggs into cubes, chopped into cubes or grated on a coarse grater. Mushrooms are also very suitable for this dish. Mushrooms and oyster mushrooms simply cut into slices and load into the broth after potatoes, and if you plan to use wild mushrooms, they must first be boiled and washed. By the way, dried mushrooms are great too - just a small handful will give the dish a rich aroma.
Serving to the table
In reputable restaurants, such a soup is often served in colorful ethnic dishes that emphasize the origin of the dish. A pale yellow soup with millet will look very good in brown clay dishes painted in a folk style. Traditional wooden spoons will also be appropriate.
This dish is combined with homemade bread made from rye or wheat flour, although dark Borodino also suits it. Many people like to season the soup with field sour cream and sprinkle with herbs, so these products should also be served.