Rassolnik - Russian Soup with Pickles

Wash the meat well, put it in the pan, pour enough water to cover it well and put it to boil.

When it starts to boil, take the foam, add the bay leaf, an onion cut into quarters and the tomato cut into small pieces. When it boils evenly, turn down the heat and let it simmer for a few hours - depending on what kind of meat you use. Beef boils a lot - 3-4 hours, beef - 2-3 hours, veal - 1-2 hours.

The base of the soup is ready when the meat is very soft and comes out of the bone easily. Remove the meat from the pan and let it cool a little.

Peel the potatoes, wash them, cut them into medium pieces and add them to the soup.

After the potatoes, add the rice, turn up the heat and when it starts to simmer, turn down the heat and leave for 25-30 minutes. During this time, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a frying pan, fry a finely chopped onion and diced carrots in oil.

When the carrot and onion are slightly browned, add the tomato paste, mix, leave for another 2 minutes and turn off the heat.

Cut cucumbers into small cubes.

The meat is removed from the bone and cut into medium pieces.

After boiling the potatoes and rice for 25 minutes, add the meat, cucumbers and carrot frying with onion and tomato paste. Mix well, let the high heat boil well, then on low heat let it boil for another 10 minutes all together.

During this time, finely chop the greens and a white onion.

Add them to the soup, stir and turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let it penetrate for another 15-20 minutes.

The soup is optionally served with sour cream, and goes perfectly with some raw onions or green leeks and a little black pepper sprinkled on top. It is our family's favorite soup in the cold season, even my little girl who doesn't put her tongue on the soup ate about 5 tablespoons with great appetite (of course with chocolate :)

Good appetite!