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.
Soviet Rassolnik
PREP 30min
COOK 2h 30min
READY IN 3h
Adapted 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.
Ingredients
Soviet Rassolnik
500 grams kidney
2 pickles
2 bunches of parsley
1 celery stalk
1 onion
4 potatoes
2 tbsp oil
100 grams lettuce or sorrel
pickle brine
Preparation
Soviet Rassolnik
Carefully remove any excess fat off the kidneys and slice each into 3 or 4 pieces. Rinse them under water and place them in a saucepan filled with cold water. Bring to a boil, then drain and wash the kidneys once again. Put them in a pot filled with cold water, so they are fully covered and boil them for the next 1-1.5 hours.
While the kidneys are cooking, chop the root vegetables — celery, onion, and parsley — and then sauté them in butter in a large pot.
Once the vegetables are soft and golden in color, remove the pot from the heat and add the diced pickles and potatoes, as well as broth from the kidneys, then boil the soup for 25-30 minutes.
Near the end of cooking, 5-10 minutes before, add the chopped sorrel or lettuce, and salt and pickle brine to taste.
Ladle the soup into plates, and serve with kidney slices and a dollop of sour cream.
Other Variations
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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.
-
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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