Now let’s cook
The barley goes on first and simmers for an hour and a half, long enough for the veal to cook and the potatoes to brown.
Ingredients
- 500 g vealthe meat of young cattle
- 2000 ml waterplain tap water
- 115 g pearl barleyhusked and polished grains, smooth and pale
- 500 g potatotubers eaten as a vegetable
- 75 g onionbulb onion: the bulbs are peeled and cut
- 75 g carrota root vegetable, peeled and cut or grated
- 5 pickled cucumbersfermented in brine for several weeks or more
- 250 ml cucumber brinethe sour liquid left after fermenting
- 60 ml vegetable oilmade from plant seeds or fruit
- 2 bay leavesdried leaf of the bay laurel: a spice for soups and boiled dishes
- 8 black peppercornswhole dried berries, not ground
- 4 g saltfine table salt
Method
Rinse 115 g of pearl barley, put it in a pan and cover it generously with boiling water. Put the lid on and simmer over a low heat for 1.5 hours, until the barley is soft.
Rinse 500 g of veal and cut it into pieces, then peel the onion (75 g). Put the meat in a large pan, pour in 2 litres of water and bring to the boil, skimming off the foam. Add the onion and simmer for 1 hour, until the meat is cooked through: at least 63 °C in the thickest piece. Cut open the thickest piece: if the meat in the middle is pink or raw, put it back in the broth, simmer for longer and check again.
While the meat simmers, peel 500 g of potatoes and cut them into large wedges. Dice 5 pickled cucumbers and grate 75 g of carrot.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes for 12–14 minutes, until they have a golden crust. Move them to a bowl.
Pour another 2 tbsp of oil into the same pan, add the carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cucumbers and fry for 4–5 minutes more.
Take the onion out of the broth. Drain the barley, then add the barley and the fried potatoes to the boiling broth. Pour in 250 ml of cucumber brine and simmer for 8 minutes.
Add the carrot with the cucumbers, 2 bay leaves and 8 black peppercorns. Season with salt to taste (about 4 g) and simmer for 6–7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, cover it and leave for 10 minutes.
Ladle the rassolnik into bowls, with a piece of meat in each.
Where this dish comes from
Rassolnik is counted among the traditional dishes of Russian cuisine. It is one of the main hot soups of that cuisine, ranking after borscht and shchi, two other Russian soups. Rassolnik is thick, made with pearl barley or rice, and its main ingredients are pickled cucumbers and their brine. It is usually served in bowls with the meat and chopped herbs, and sour cream is passed separately.
