Beef, Barley And Pickle Soup (rassolnik)

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 12 cups water
• 1 lb lean beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 cup barley, rinsed
• 1/2 tablespoon salt, more to taste
• 3 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced into rings
• 6 baby pickles (about 1 1/2 cups diced)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 celery ribs, finel sliced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste or 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 tablespoons dill, but very nice (optional)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• sour cream, and extra dill to serve

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot, partially cover with lid and cook 12 cups water, beef and barley with 1/2 tbsp salt (30 min). skim off any impurities that rise to the top to keep your soup clear.
• 2 sautee pickles with 1 tbsp oil for a few minutes on medium/high heat. add pickles, potatoes and sliced carrots to the pot and cook for an additional 10 min while making your mirepoix “zazharka” in step.
• 3 mirepoix/zazharka: add 3 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet and sauté onion (2 min), then add grated carrot and sliced celery and continue to saute until carrots are soft (5 min). stir 1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup into the pan and add this mixture to the soup pot.
• 4 toss in 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp dill and more salt to taste. continue to simmer for another 2 minutes or until your potatoes are fully cooked and can be easily pieced with a fork.
• 5 some people eat it with a dollop of sour cream,.