Solyanka was originally a very fat soup, which was prepared from the remnants of the products. Such a dish was prepared exclusively by the villagers. After some time, the hodgepodge fell into the famous cookbooks. From that moment on, almost every housewife knew how to cook a hodgepodge. Culinary evolution has influenced the emergence of a huge number of different recipes for this dish. Each of them differs in ingredients, has some nuances in cooking.
What is the difference between the hodgepodge and the rest of the first courses
Before preparing a hodgepodge, you need to understand exactly how it differs from the rest of the first courses. Thanks to the unique taste, such a “soup” was an indispensable dish at the time of a hangover. Often, the hodgepodge was included in the menu of the feast itself.
Distinctive features:
- The broth should be greasy and strong. For the main brew, it is worth using several different ingredients: fish, meat, mushrooms.
- The taste should be slightly acidic. Olives, cucumbers, capers and tomato paste, kvass, pickled ingredients, lemon give such an unusual touch.
- Depending on the type of hodgepodge, the main component is determined, which is present in different interpretations: fresh, pickled, salty, pickled, smoked, dried.
- Sharp spices and seasonings, a large number of various herbs and onions, any cereals must be used. Potatoes, carrots are added very rarely.
Given all the features of the dish, it will become clear to any housewife how to cook a hodgepodge and what taste it should have.
The right choice of products
The preparation of any dish begins with the right choice of products. The main condition is that all components must be fresh, unspoiled and smell good.
What else to look for when choosing products:
- It is worth choosing exclusively barrel cucumbers, with a bright acidity from fermentation. With a vegetable, cut off the skin and stew in a pan.
- To prepare the broth, it is worth using at least 4 varieties of the product of various preparations.
- The more spices and herbs used in the cooking process, the more colorful the taste will be.
- To supplement the base of the hodgepodge, it is worth using cereals: rice or millet.
The set of products may vary the recipe qualities of the dish. How to cook a hodgepodge from a set of ingredients will also become clear from the recipe. You should not choose products with a pungent and too persistent smell and taste - this will not saturate the taste and smell of the dish.
The main secrets of cooking hodgepodge
You need to not only know how to cook a hodgepodge, but also the basic secrets of cooking, which will make the dish especially tasty and original. Given the nuances of cooking, the dish can be prepared even by an inexperienced chef. At the same time, non-standard ingredients will not spoil the taste, but rather make it more piquant.
Tips on how to properly cook a hodgepodge for an inexperienced chef:
- The broth should be strong. Meat, mushrooms or fish should be put in cold water and cook over low heat for several hours. Navar should be infused for 5-6 hours.
- Products should be cut into small strips. This nuance will help maintain an attractive appearance of the dish and help give all the taste to the broth.
- It is imperative to prepare a barbecue for hodgepodge from onions, cucumbers and tomato paste. Brez is an additional basis for broth. Simmer all the ingredients until a viscosity forms, then put in the oven for 1 hour with a temperature of 140 degrees.
- When using capers and olives, it should be borne in mind that they can not be digested. As a result of long cooking of such products, bitterness in taste may appear. After pouring capers or olives, the hodgepodge should be brought to a boil and immediately removed from the heat.
The most popular recipes for hodgepodge
The history of the preparation of solyanka dates back several centuries. Each hostess and cook made their own changes, so today there are a huge number of recipes. Each of the options can radically differ from each other both in the set of products and in the method of preparation.
There is a list of the most popular recipes for hodgepodge:
- Meat hodgepodge.
- Mushroom hodgepodge.
- Mushroom hodgepodge.
- Combined hodgepodge soup.
- Sausage hodgepodge.
How to cook a hodgepodge soup, meat, mushroom or sausage soup, you can learn specifically from the cookbook, culinary magazine, the Internet, as well as use the recipes presented in the article.
Features of the preparation of prefabricated hodgepodge
In the process of searching for recipes for preparing this dish, housewives often come across such a phrase as “hodgepodge”. There are general recommendations that accurately indicate how to cook a hodgepodge:
- Prefabricated hodgepodge involves the use of several types of one-sided ingredients.
- The broth should be welded from prefabricated ingredients according to established recommendations. Infuse the broth for 5-6 hours.
- The dish should include more than 10 diverse products in approximately equal amounts.
Recipes of prefabricated hodgepodge do not include complex cooking processes, as they are considered to be classic in essence.
Features of the preparation of soup-solyanka
Solyanka soup is a classic type of this dish, so there should be no problems with cooking. First, stock up on products:
- 100 grams of fresh beef.
- Dried, smoked, salted pork, which will total 1 kg of products.
- 2 large onions.
- 50 grams of capers.
- 5 tablespoons of tomato paste.
- 3 large pickles.
- Bay leaves, ground pepper, hot spices and herbs.
Just before you cook the soup, it’s worth boiling and insisting the broth, making a cut. These are the main and long-term preparations, further technical aspects will remain:
- Dice the onions, cucumbers and beef boiled in the broth. From them a brez is prepared by the method of prolonged stewing and languishing in the oven with the addition of tomato paste.
- Cut the pork into strips and fry until half cooked.
- Put all the ingredients in the broth and simmer over low heat for half an hour.
- Add capers and half a glass of brine with cucumbers.
- Fall asleep greens, bay leaf, spices.
- Keep the hodgepodge on fire with the lid closed for about 5 minutes.
Turn off the fire and immediately remove the bay leaf from the soup. When serving, put a slice of lemon in a bowl.
The principle of cooking meat hodgepodge
Meat hodgepodge is prepared very quickly, but at the same time, taste is not lost. The following ingredients need to be prepared:
- 3 liters of meat broth.
- Half a kilogram of smoked meat (chicken, pork, beef).
- Medium onion.
- 4 potatoes.
- 4 pickles.
- 50 g of capers.
- 50 g of olives.
- Half a glass of tomato juice.
- Greens, spices, lemon.
You need to know exactly how to cook a meat hodgepodge so that the broth is rich and satisfying, but not too fat:
- In the meat broth, which was welded on the bone for an hour, pour the meat. Pre-cut meat products into strips. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Dice the potatoes and pour them into the broth after the meat. Cook for a quarter of an hour.
- Dice the cucumbers and onions. Simmer in a pan for half an hour. Add tomato juice and simmer another 20 minutes.
- Pour the cut into the hodgepodge and cook together for another quarter of an hour.
- Fall asleep capers, herbs and spices. Cook for another 5 minutes. Close the lid and let it brew for 5-10 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and a circle of lemon.
Sausage - the main ingredient of hodgepodge
Sausage solyanka is considered an economist in relation to the cost of ingredients and time. This cooking option can often be found in dining rooms and cafes.
Product Set:
- Half a kilogram of doctor or milk sausage.
- 300 grams of smoked sausage.
- 300 grams of chicken breast.
- 5 potato tubers.
- 5 pickles.
- 3 tablespoons of capers.
- 2 medium onions.
- 2 tablespoons of concentrated tomato paste.
Not many people know how to cook a hodgepodge with sausage, complicate the technology. This is actually a very simple process:
- Cut the potatoes into small strips and put to cook.
- Fry sausage and brisket in a pan until golden brown.
- When the potatoes boil, you need to remove the foam and fill in the fried sausage.
- Fry onions and cucumbers in a pan. At the end, add a few tablespoons of broth from the pan and tomato paste. Stew for 5-10 minutes.
- Pour the cut into the pan and pour half a glass of brine.
- Add capers, herbs, spices 10 minutes before cooking.
Set aside the hodgepodge and cover. You can eat after 15 minutes.
The unique taste of prefabricated meat hodgepodge
In the combined meat hodgepodge, you can combine different meat products. The quantity and types can be chosen independently.
Hodgepodge components:
- A few sausages.
- 250 g smoked sausage.
- 3 liters of water.
- 250 g of boiled pork and the same amount of beef.
- Bouillon Cube.
- Large onion.
- The fourth part of a glass of tomato puree.
- 3 pickles, 10 grams of olives.
- Spices, herbs, lemon.
Skilled culinary specialists know how to cook a combined meat hodgepodge. Beginners are offered a simpler method:
- Pour water into a pot and boil.
- While the water is heating, cut the onions into cubes and fry in a pan. When the vegetable becomes clear, add tomato puree.
- Straws sausage and meat.
- Pour meat, onions and cucumbers into boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Pour olives, spices and herbs. Boil another 5 minutes.
Turn off the dish and insist for half an hour. The feed is standard.
The original recipe for hodgepodge with cabbage
A combination of cabbage and mushrooms is ideal for a hodgepodge of vegetables. Therefore, such a recipe is considered the most traditional. First, select the products:
- A pound of fresh cabbage.
- 0.5 kg of mushrooms or oyster mushroom.
- Bulb.
- 3 pickles.
- 20 grams of tomato paste.
- Spices, herbs.
Almost all vegetarians are interested in how to cook hodgepodge from cabbage. This recipe will be ideal for those who follow the figure:
- Chop the cabbage and simmer it for 3/4 hours in a saucepan with the addition of half a glass of water, a teaspoon of vinegar and butter.
- Fry onions and mushrooms in a pan until half ready.
- When the time for stewing the cabbage expires, it is worth adding tomato paste and cucumbers to the container. Stew until food is cooked.
- Grease the baking dish with vegetable oil. Put a thin layer of half stewed cabbage. Then completely lay out the layer with mushrooms, cover with the remains of cabbage.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and place in the oven for half an hour.
It will turn out a crisp with a golden color. Serve as a casserole.