It is a lot of fun to try new recipes, and I had never heard of Solyanka soup before seeing a recipe for it online, so I immediately wanted to make it. My entire family loves anything pickled and all kinds of pickles and olives, so I had a feeling everyone would like this dish.
I did some research and reading about this soup, and it seems that it can vary quite a lot. The idea is to use what you have, and to have a sour element like pickles included. One article said it goes great with vodka, which sounds great to me 🙂 I used ham, but saw recipes with other smoked meats and also some with green olives vs black olives. The original recipe I used called for adding pickle juice and lemon to the soup as well, but after adding chopped pickles, I decided not to add additional acid since it was pretty sour already.
I topped this with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped parsley and served with tomato cheese bread. My husband and I definitely agreed we’d like to have this soup again. 🙂
Solyanka Soup
Ingredients
- 1 stalk celery for the broth
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 1-2 cups water
- 3 dill pickles diced
- 1 cup black or green olives sliced
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 16 oz ham diced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- sour cream for serving
- chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
- Put the stock and water into a large pot over medium heat and add the piece of celery and some salt. Simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until the veggies are tender. Add the diced ham. Sprinkle the flour over the pan and mix gently. Make sure it is all absorbed and cook for a minute or two.
- Remove the celery from the broth and add the diced veggies and ham, stirring quickly to distribute the flour and avoid lumps. Add the tomatoes, pickles and olives as well as the dill and onion powder and bring to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes or so, tasting for salt and sourness level. If it needs more salt or acid, add those. You can add pickle juice or lemon.
- Serve with dollops of sour cream and chopped parsley.