Solyanka Myasnaya

Ingredients

• 1.5 litres beef or chicken stock
• 250 g smoked pork ribs, meat pulled from the bone
• 150 g cooked ham, cut into short batons
• 150 g smoked sausage, sliced 5 mm thick
• 150 g boiled beef or veal, shredded
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 pickled cucumbers (about 200 g), cut into batons
• 150 ml brine from the pickle jar
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 30 g butter
• 100 g pitted green olives, halved
• 2 tbsp capers, drained
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 lemon, cut into 6 slices
• 6 tbsp smetana or sour cream
• 4 tbsp chopped dill
• salt, only if needed

Before you cook

• Finely chop the onions.
• Cut the pickled cucumbers into batons about the size of a matchstick.
• Slice the smoked sausage and cut the ham into short batons.
• Pull the meat off the smoked ribs and shred the boiled beef.
• Slice the lemon into six rounds and chop the dill.

Steps

1. Warm the oil and butter together in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
2. Add the chopped onions and cook them for 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and pale gold.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 3 minutes, until it darkens and smells sweet instead of raw.
4. Add the pickle batons and pour in the pickle brine.
5. Simmer the pickles in the brine for 10 minutes, until they lose their raw crunch.
6. Pour in the stock and bring the pot to a gentle boil.
7. Add the smoked rib meat, the ham, the sausage and the boiled beef.
8. Drop in the bay leaf and peppercorns and simmer everything uncovered for 20 minutes.
9. Stir in the olives and capers and simmer for 5 minutes more.
10. Taste the broth and add salt only if it needs it, remembering the brine and cured meats are already salty.
11. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the soup stand for 15 minutes to settle.
12. Ladle it into bowls and finish each one with a lemon slice, a spoonful of smetana and plenty of dill.