Soljanka (German-Style Meat & Pickle Soup)

A tangy, smoky East German soup of mixed sausages, gherkins, tomato and olives, served with sour cream.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 1 hour 5 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 300g mixed smoked sausage and ham, diced (such as Kielbasa, cooked ham, Wiener sausage)
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika
  • 1.2 litres beef stock
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 4 gherkins, diced
  • 3 tbsp gherkin pickling liquid
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 12 green olives, sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Sour cream, lemon slices and chopped fresh dill, to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion for 6 minutes. Add the meats and fry for 5 minutes until lightly browned.

  2. Stir in the tomato purée and paprika for 1 minute.

  3. Add the stock, tomatoes, gherkins, gherkin liquid, capers, olives and bay leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

  4. Remove the bay leaves, season to taste and serve with sour cream, lemon slices and dill.