Authentic Rassolnik Recipe Russia, Europe
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
Hailed by Russians as the best hangover cure, rassolnik soup, whether made meatless or vegetarian, always has pickles and their brine as the main ingredients. The preparation typically starts with making a meat or a vegetable broth, boiling the innards or giblets (veal, beef, poultry, and lamb) and sautéing or baking the root vegetables. Once the broth has been strained, chopped kidneys or liver (and sometimes meat) are added to it together with vegetables, herbs, and spices. At this point, barley which has been previously soaked in water or boiled is also added to the soup. The staple ingredient of this dish, pickles are chopped and before being added to the soup are either sautéed with other vegetables, separately simmered, or just added directly to the soup without any prior preparation; however, they are almost always added to the soup near the end of cooking together with pickle brine. Of course, different chefs will have their method of preparation that may differ ... Read more
Cooking tips
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pickles & pickle brine
If you can, always use homemade pickles because store-bought ones often contain too much vinegar. As for the pickle brine, it's best first to dilute it with water and then add it to the soup in batches, checking after each addition the taste; the soup should not be sour. -
barley substitutions
Both rice and buckwheat can be used instead of barley. -
offal
If you're using beef or veal kidneys, you need to prepare them before you cook them. First, make sure to soak them for two hours in any of the following solutions: water and white vinegar, water and lemon juice, or water and salt. Afterward, you must boil them in water, then rinse them, and discard the water. At this point, the kidneys are suitable for cooking and consumption. -
broth
You may make rassolnik with water, but using broth will give the soup a richer flavor. Although you may want to pair the broth according to the type of meat you use — chicken broth when making the soup with chicken, or beef broth when preparing rassolnik with the beef meat of offal — it is not a mistake to combine different flavors, as it can only add to the dish, but never spoil it. -
meatless version
A vegetarian version of this soup is typically consumed during Lent. It can be made without meat, just with pickles and root vegetables, but to make it protein rich, add mushrooms. The best choice would be dried ones that will give the soup a depth of flavor. -
additional ingredients
With pickle and pickle brine as the signature ingredients of the soup, the meat, offal, and fish added to the soup change from recipe to recipe; however, often a recipe will call for sorrel, cabbage, or lettuce which also accentuate the soup's sour flavor. Tomato paste is added to the version of rassolnik that's prepared in St. Petersburg, and even adding spinach to this soup will work. -
serving
Rassolnik prepared in St. Petersburg is always served topped with a dollop of sour cream and a side of bread, whereas the Moscow version is served topped with an egg and milk mixture and with a side of pies that have a sour cottage cream filling. In any case, this soup should always be served hot.
Recipe variations
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Soviet Rassolnik
Ready in 3hAdapted from the 1952 edition of The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food, a go-to cookbook in the Soviet era, this recipe calls for beef kidneys that have to be first boiled before they can be used for cooking. As instructed in the cookbook, this soup can be made with any other kidneys or even with fish, and you can also further improve its flavor by adding either a meat or a fish broth.
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Moscow Rassolnik
Ready in 2hIn this Moscow-style rossolnik, chicken and chicken broth are the star ingredients. Apart from those, root vegetables also make the bulk of the soup, while cream and milk or cream and egg are mixed together and added to the soup to make it richer. Pickles are a must, of course, and you can use whatever chicken meat you have on hand.
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Rassolnik with Wild Mushrooms
Ready in 1h 20minAdapted from the cookbook Classic Russian Cuisine by Alla Sacharow, this recipe is for a vegetarian version of the rassolnik soup. If you can't get hold of dried wild mushrooms, experiment by adding other dried mushrooms, or if you are using fresh mushrooms, triple the amount, but take note that fresh ones will never give the soup the same depth of flavor as dried ones can.
Leningrad Rassolnik
PREP 20min
COOK 1h
READY IN 1h 20min
The following is the Leningrad rassolnik which is not made with beef or veal kidneys but instead with lean meat. It is a simplified, quick-to-make version of the famed soup, but no doubt equally satisfying.
Ingredients
Leningrad Rassolnik
300 g lean beef
3-4 potatoes
1-2 onions
1 carrot
50 g pearl barley (dry)
4 pickled cucumbers
sour cream
Preparation
Leningrad Rassolnik
The first step is to soak the barley overnight. The following day, start preparing the soup. To make the broth, cut up the meat into smaller pieces and add them to a pot of boiling water, then lower the heat so that the meat simmers while you prepare the vegetables.
Chop the onion into dices, and shred the carrot, then sauté them for 5-10 minutes, until they turn golden.
Add the previously soaked barley to the broth. After 30 minutes, once the barley is cooked, add diced potatoes to the broth and cook them for 5-10 minutes.
Next, add the onion and carrot, slices of pickled cucumbers, and herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve each bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream.
Other Variations
-
Soviet Rassolnik
Ready in 3hAdapted from the 1952 edition of The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food, a go-to cookbook in the Soviet era, this recipe calls for beef kidneys that have to be first boiled before they can be used for cooking. As instructed in the cookbook, this soup can be made with any other kidneys or even with fish, and you can also further improve its flavor by adding either a meat or a fish broth.
-
Moscow Rassolnik
Ready in 2hIn this Moscow-style rossolnik, chicken and chicken broth are the star ingredients. Apart from those, root vegetables also make the bulk of the soup, while cream and milk or cream and egg are mixed together and added to the soup to make it richer. Pickles are a must, of course, and you can use whatever chicken meat you have on hand.
-
Rassolnik with Wild Mushrooms
Ready in 1h 20minAdapted from the cookbook Classic Russian Cuisine by Alla Sacharow, this recipe is for a vegetarian version of the rassolnik soup. If you can't get hold of dried wild mushrooms, experiment by adding other dried mushrooms, or if you are using fresh mushrooms, triple the amount, but take note that fresh ones will never give the soup the same depth of flavor as dried ones can.
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