Veal Kidney and Cucumber Soup

Name: Veal Kidney and Cucumber Soup (Rassoljnik s Lezjenom)
Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients: 1.5 litres/2½ pints/6¼ cups home-made or good quality beef stock; 1.5 litres/2½ pints/6¼ cups home-made or good quality beef stock; 50 g/2 oz/generous ¼ cup pearl barley; 4-5 potatoes; 1 onion; 1 small leek; 2 carrots; 50 g/2 oz celeriac; 3-4 Salted Cucumbers plus 30 ml–45 ml/2-3 tbsp juice from the jar; 600 g/1 lb 6 oz calf’s kidney; 45 ml/3 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil; 2 bay leaves; 5 black peppercorns; 2 allspice berries; 25 g/1 oz chopped fresh dill or 50 g/2 oz chopped fresh parsley; 25 g/1 oz chopped fresh dill or 50 g/2 oz chopped fresh parsley; 15 g/½ oz/1 tbsp butter; 1 egg yolk; 75 ml/5 tbsp double (heavy) cream

Rassoljnik s Lezjenom

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Recipes from My Russian Grandmother's Kitchen

By Elena Makhonko

Published 2015

About

Many Russians prefer this soup to be as thick as porridge (kasha) but a thinner consistency may be more to your taste. It is important not boil the soup after the Lezjen sauce has been added, otherwise it may curdle.

Ingredients

1.5 litres/2½ pints/6¼ cups home-made or good quality beef stock
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Method

Heat half of the stock in a large pan. Add the barley and cook for 35-50 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into small wedges and add to the pan for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Meanwhile, chop the onion, slice the leek, finely slice the carrots and celeriac, and dice the pickled cucumbers. Cut the calf’s kidney into small chunks.

Energy 515kcal/2152kJ; Protein 29.7g; Carbohydrate 38.5g, of which sugars 8.6g; Fat 27.9g, of which saturates 11.4g; Cholesterol 684mg; Calcium 107mg; Fibre 4.7g; Sodium 340mg.