The traditional definition of a hodgepodge soup is a team. And all because it is always prepared from several types of meat, or rather, it is collected from what is in the refrigerator. Therefore, the most correct time for making a hodgepodge is the first day after the holidays, when there are many different products left, and, as a rule, a little bit of everything.
For hodgepodge, you can use almost any meat: beef, veal, pork, chicken, turkey. Another required component is smoked meats. Anything you like or just left after a festive feast will do: smoked and boiled sausages, carbonade, ham, neck, smoked ribs, sausages. Pickled cucumbers are responsible for the unique sour taste. In most modern recipes, the Russian hodgepodge is complemented by Mediterranean ingredients such as olives and capers. Careful: do not oversalt! Taste the soup as you add, as smoked meats, cucumbers, and capers can add enough salt to the broth.
Solyanka traditional
Ingredients:
- Beef or veal (preferably on the bone) - 0.5 kg
- Water - 2.5-3 l
- Smoked pork ribs - 200 g
- Ham - 200 g
- Smoked sausage - 200 g
- Sausages or boiled sausage - 200 g
- Bulb onions - 1 pc.
- Pickled gherkins - 3 pcs.
- Pitted black olives - 100 g
- Tomato paste - 2 tbsp l.
- Parsley - a small bunch
- Bay leaf - 2 pcs.
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- Vegetable oil
- Sour cream
- Lemon
Preparation:
- Put beef (veal) and smoked ribs in a saucepan, add water and bring to a boil
- Remove foam, simmer for about 2 hours.
- 15-20 minutes before the broth is ready, add bay leaf and pepper to it.
- Remove the meat and ribs from the broth, remove the bay leaf, strain the broth.
- Separate the meat from the bones and cut into strips. Also chop the ham and sausage (and sausages if you use them instead of boiled sausage).
- Finely chop the onion and parsley, cut the cucumbers into small cubes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, put onion in it, fry for 3-4 minutes. Add cucumbers, parsley, tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of broth and simmer for 8 minutes without a lid.
- Transfer the stewed mixture to the broth, bring to a boil, cook for 5 minutes.
- Add meat, sausages, ham and sausage to the saucepan. Boil.
- Add the olives, pour the olive brine into the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, cover, let it brew for 10 minutes.
- Serve with a slice of lemon in each plate with sour cream and finely chopped herbs (to taste).
Solyanka with beans
Ingredients:
- Ham - 200 g
- Smoked sausage - 200 g
- Bulb onions - 1 pc.
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 1-2 cloves
- Potatoes - 2 pcs.
- Pickled cucumbers - 2 pcs. (large)
- Red beans - 1 can
- Tomato juice - 100 ml
- Tomato paste - 2 tbsp l.
- Parsley or dill - a small bunch
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- Vegetable oil
Preparation:
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Cut the sausage, ham and cucumbers into cubes. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, put onions and carrots, fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula. Add garlic, sausage and ham, fry for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and pickles, simmer for another 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove frying from heat. Peel the potatoes, cut into strips or cubes, put in a saucepan (about 3 liters), add cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, season with salt, cook for 15 minutes. Add frying and beans from a jar to the potatoes, salt (if necessary), pepper, cook for 10 minutes. Pour in tomato juice, cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, let stand for 15 minutes. Serve the solyanka very hot, sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.
Meat solyanka with mushrooms
Ingredients for 10 servings:
- Beef or veal - 0.8 kg
- Ham, neck, carbonade - 200 g
- Smoked sausage - 400 g
- Veal sausages - 200 g
- Fresh champignons - 200 g
- Bulb onions - 2 pcs.
- Carrots - 1 pc. (large)
- Pickled cucumbers - 200 g
- Pitted black olives - 1 can
- Capers - 50 g
- Tomato paste - 5 tbsp l.
- Bay leaf - 2 pcs.
- Butter - 70 g
- Olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Black peppercorns - to taste
- Parsley - a small bunch
- Sour cream
- Lemon
Preparation:
Put meat, 2 peeled onions, 2 carrots and a few peppercorns in a saucepan. Pour 3-4 liters of cold water, bring to a boil, remove foam, reduce heat to minimum, cook meat for 1, 5-2 hours. 15 minutes before cooking, remove the onions and carrots, add salt and bay leaf.
Finely chop the onion. Rinse fresh mushrooms, dry and cut into plates. Heat a mixture of butter and olive oil in a frying pan, fry the onion until golden. Put the mushrooms on the onion, fry for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Gradually add tomato paste, simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. You can pour in a few tablespoons of broth, continue to simmer.
Remove the boiled meat from the broth, cool and chop finely. Cut sausage, smoked meats, sausages (whatever you have) into cubes or strips.
Strain the broth, return to the fire, bring to a boil. Add frying with mushrooms to it, then all the smoked meats and, finally, chopped boiled beef. Cook for 5 minutes. Add a few slices of lemon, turn off the heat. Let the hodgepodge brew for 10-15 minutes.
Put olives, capers in plates, pour the hodgepodge. Serve with sour cream and finely chopped herbs.
Flawless hodgepodge from Alexey Zimin
Recipe from a renowned chef. As in any author's recipe, in order to get closer to perfection, you must adhere to the instructions as much as possible and, if possible, use exactly those products that are indicated. Canned pelati tomatoes (without skin, in their own juice, without salt, sugar, vinegar and other additives) are not found in supermarkets as often as we would like. If you don't find them, replace with regular tomatoes. They will need to be scalded with boiling water and then carefully peeled from the skin. You can also use mashed tomatoes - trade wind (but also not a frequent visitor in our stores), and in the most extreme case - tomato paste, but it will not be so tasty. But with meat products, everything is much easier - you can use everything that is in the refrigerator.
Ingredients:
- Beef - 150 g
- Beef bones - 400 g
- Boiled ham - 400 g
- Veal sausages - 400 g
- Bulb onions - 1 pc. (large)
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Pickled gherkins - 3 pcs.
- Capers - 50 g
- Pitted black olives - 15 pcs.
- Pitted green olives - 10 pcs.
- Pelati tomatoes - 500 g
- Sugar - 10 g
- Butter - 30 g
- Bay leaf - 2 pcs.
- Parsley - a small bunch
- Salt to taste
- Black peppercorns - to taste
- Sour cream
- Lemon
Preparation:
Cut the onion in half, coarsely chop the carrots. Lightly fry half of the onion and carrots in a pan. Put the vegetables in a saucepan, add meat and bones, pour 1.5 liters of water, bring to a boil, cook for 1.5 hours. 5-10 minutes until ready, put bay leaf and peppercorns. Remove the meat and set aside. If it was on the bone, remove or cut from the bone. Strain the broth.
Chop the other half of the onion very finely.
Put the canned pelati tomatoes into a blender bowl and beat until puree. If you are using trade wind or tomato paste, skip this step.
Melt the butter in a saucepan or a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add finely chopped onion and sauté until solid golden brown. Add tomato puree to a saucepan, mix thoroughly. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Cut the pickled cucumbers into small cubes, put in a small saucepan, add a little water, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes after boiling.
Cut boiled meat, ham, sausage, sausages into small cubes. Bring the broth to a boil, add the onion with tomato puree to it, wait for it to boil again. Add meat and all meat products, boiled cucumbers and capers. Cook for 5 minutes, add salt and sugar to taste. If you have added capers and olives liquid to the broth, be careful with the salt - the hodgepodge may already be salty enough.
Put olives and lemon wedges into plates. Pour the hodgepodge, serve with sour cream and finely chopped parsley.
