Solyanka

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Solyanka (Russian and Ukrainian: соля́нка) is a thick, spicy and sour soup in the Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. It may have originated in Ukraine in the 17th century.

Solyanka with olives

There are mainly three different kinds of solyanka, with the main ingredient being either meat, fish or mushrooms. All of them contain pickled cucumbers with brine, and often cabbage, salty mushrooms, cream and dill. The soup is prepared by cooking the cucumbers with brine before adding the other ingredients of the broth.

For meat solyanka, ingredients like beef, ham, sausages, chicken breasts, and cabbage, together with salty mushrooms, cucumber pickles, tomatoes, onions, olives, capers, allspice, parsley, and dill are all cut fine and mingled with cream in a pot. The broth is added, and all shortly heated in the stove, without boiling.
Fish solyanka is prepared similarly, but soup vegetables are cooked with the broth. The meat is replaced with fish, like sturgeon and salmon, and freshwater crayfish. Finally, some lemon juice is added to the soup.
For mushroom solyanka, cut cabbage is heated in butter together with vinegar, tomatoes, and cucumber pickles, with little brine. Separately, mushrooms and onions are heated, and grated lemon skin is added. Cabbage and mushrooms are put in layers, breadcrumbs and butter added, and all shortly baked.

Solyanka is also popular in the Eastern parts of Germany, where it is commonly found in restaurants and available as instant product in stores. (German transcription is Soljanka.)