Russian soup - Russian soul

soviet poster

In the middle of the 20^th century in Russia Stalin introduced a single rule for all types of state institutions : the dinner of all people should consists of “ first course, second course and a drink”. Popularly known as “first, second and a compote”.

As a rule, the first course is soup, the second course can be meat with  a garnish ( it can be potatoes, pasta or  buckwheat) and at the end you can eat or drink something sweet. “Compote” is a traditional cold drink from boiled dried fruits.  When Russians are abroad it is unusual for them to eat a salad before a soup or a meat-dish. We have it afterwards. 

So this rule of “first, second and compote” has become a national tradition. That’s why Russian people can’t imagine their lives without soup.

All over the country people cook more or less the same kinds of  “first course”. This can vary depending on the region. 

In the South of Russia people like soup from seasonal fish.  We call it “uha”. It usually contains several different kinds of fresh white fish from the river, potatoes and clear broth (stock, consome?).  In my city it is characteristic to add tomatoes at  the end of cooking process. The taste of our “uha from the river Don” is a little bit sweet.

the best UHA ia from the pot

one can add a shot of vodka inside

The most popular soup in our country is “borsh”. It is a very complicated dish, containing about ten ingredients. The main component is  beetroot. It gives the soup its rose colour. The main feature of “borsh” is that one should cook vegetables before and in different ways. Stew the beetroot separately and sauté onion, carrot and tomato paste in the frying-pan.  Sliced cabbage  and potatoes one can put into the pan raw. As a rule “borsh” should contain boiled beef, but sometimes it can be meatless. When the soup is ready it is better to let it stand a day. The “yesterday borsh” is the best. Every Russian woman should prepare “borsh” even once in her life.

If “borsh” is usually a winter soup, “okroshka” is a summer favourite. It is our answer to Spanish gazpacho. This is a mix of finely chopped vegetables, such as potatoes, cucumbers and radish with boiled eggs. Besides these ingredients “Okroshka” usually contains a “meat part”. It can be small pieces of boiled beef, chicken or sausage. As a liquid we can use two different things – both exist only in Russia. First is a home-made “kvass”. It is a cold drink made from dried bread and yeast, and the second liquid is a “kefir” – a kind of a sour milk product.  

 cold soup "okroshka" with the "kvas"

 with Kefir ( milk product)

we say "on kvas" ("na kvase")

okroshka on kefir ( "okroshka na kefire")

These are only three soups, however we have dozens. Their unifying idea is to chop lots of ingredients in a certain amount and order. We use sauerkraut, peas, pork shank, smoked meat, rice, pickles, lamb, pearl barley and many others.

Russian soups can be of different thickness or colour, they can be sour or a bit spicy – the only rule is to eat them before the “second course” during lunch. Today we do not eat soup every day, but we miss them while travelling abroad. We hurry to visit our mother, because we know she will feed us with the best home-made soup ever!

Bon Apetite!