National Russian 'tasty': pickle with kidneys

The main distinguishing feature of soup is that the pickle with kidneys is its sour-salted cucumber base. Therefore, if you decide to experiment a little and put some exquisite pickles in a pot, it's in vain. Only cask salted cucumbers along with their own brine, which can be purchased somewhere in the backyard of the market with a modest old lady (she, by the way, will definitely offer you to taste your products before purchasing). After all, it's not for nothing that this first dish, even in ancient times, was given such a clandestine nickname as "hangover".

According to the Russian culinary tradition, a rassolnik with kidney beef or beef is prepared. But since today this byproduct can not be found in the daytime, so that it is fresh and quality, it is allowed to use for this purpose dishes and any other by-products - giblets of the poultry (heart, stomach, legs, cervix, liver), to see on the shelves is not a problem. At the worst, you can take just beef (shank or curl).

In accordance with the selected meat is selected and cereal for soup. Rassolnik with kidneys or beef requires the presence of pearl barley, chicken and turkey giblets like rice, and goose and duck offal is better to use barley. There is also a rassolnik lean (vegetarian), which is recommended to cook with rice or buckwheat. The composition of the spices that are put in the pot with the soup will also depend on the meat that you chose originally.

In order for this first dish to have a tender, slightly salty and slightly acidic taste, you will have to work a little, namely, try to observe the balance between the salted (cucumber) component of the soup and the sinks of salt (potatoes, croup, root vegetables). Therefore, do not rush to add a clean brine to your pickler with the kidneys - this should be done only if you have not enough salted cucumber. And even then his dose should be almost homoeopathic - half a cup of a half liter of soup. Before pouring into the pan, the brine should be boiled.

Recipe: rassolnik with kidneys

Wash the kidneys (300 g), free of the films and fat and soak the clock for 7 hours in cold water. After this time, change the water, rinse off the by-product and cook it half an hour after boiling water. Remove the buds, cut them into medium slices.

Pearl barley (two tablespoons) rinse under cold water in a colander until the water from the cereal becomes transparent. Put the pearl barley in the saucepan, pour boiling water and put on for 40 minutes steaming. Water periodically change, so that the croup is mostly in very hot water.

With pickled cucumbers (3 pieces) cut the peel, fill it with 1.5 cups of boiling water and boil for 15 minutes on low heat. The boiled peel is discarded, and into the resulting brine, lower the cucumber pulp, cut into small slices (first cut the cucumbers along into four parts and then across). You can just rub cucumbers on a large grater, as many people are doing now. Boil the brine with the flesh for another 10 minutes.

Pour 1.5 liters of water into a saucepan, put the kidneys there and cook half an hour. Then add croup and roots, cut into strips (1 carrot, 1 parsley root with herbs and 1 celery root, also with herbs). After 15 minutes, throw in the soup 2-3 potatoes, sliced, and finely chopped onions. Now leave not yet rassolnik boil until the moment when the potatoes are ready. It will take about 15 minutes. And now it's time to add the brine to the cucumbers, mix and taste, if your first course is salted enough. If that, podsolite or top up the boiled pure brine. Enter the spices (3 laurelties, 6 black peppercorns, 2 peas of sweet pepper). Cook the pickle for another 15 minutes, season with fresh herbs (dill or parsley) and after 3 minutes turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid.

That's it! Your delicious rassolnik with pearl barley and kidneys is ready. And if you serve a dish with sour cream, it will be even tastier.