Georgian Solyanka

Visually, Georgian solyanka most likely resembles a thick stew with meat. Veal or beef is stewed with aromatic spices, garlic, and pickles in thick tomato sauce. As a result, the meat pieces, languished in the acidic tomato environment, literally dissolve in the mouth, while the pickle adds a special delicacy to this national dish.

Yield: 4 servings.

Cooking time: 1.5 hours.

Caloric content: 133 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cuisine: Georgian.

Ingredients

• beef pulp – 650 g;
• puréed canned tomatoes without skin – 300 g;
• white onion – 300 g;
• pickles – 300 g;
• garlic – 1 large clove or 2-3 small ones;
• spicy adjika – 1 tsp;
• tomato paste – 60 g;
• butter – 30 g;
• vegetable oil for frying – 60 ml;
• mix of parsley and cilantro for serving – a bunch;
• salt – may not be needed.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients. Beef can be replaced with young veal. Cooking time in this case will be halved. Canned tomatoes can be replaced with fresh ones, but they should be of sour varieties.

2. Cut the beef into small pieces that are convenient to eat without biting. If the meat has membranes and tendons, they can be left, as after cooking they will soften perfectly, become very tender, and will not interfere with chewing.

3. In heated vegetable oil, fry the prepared pieces over high heat.

4. After about 3-4 minutes, cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to the minimum and stew the beef for exactly one hour.

5. Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. Cut the onion into thin short strips.

6. Cut the cucumbers into medium cubes.

7. Finely chop the garlic with a knife.

8. After the specified time, the meat will have sufficiently stewed, releasing a large amount of juice.

9. Since beef is not fatty and a bit dry, it is better to enrich it with butter, adding it to the pan.

10. When the butter melts, add the onion to the mixture. Stir everything, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

11. Then (mainly to give the dish a beautiful color) add the tomato paste.

12. After mixing, add the spicy adjika, which contains, besides hot pepper, a whole bouquet of aromatic spices.

13. Immediately pour the thick purée of tomatoes over the meat pieces. Cover the mixture with a lid and stew for 5-7 minutes.

14. Next, you can add the pickles.

15. And along with them, the garlic. Mix the ingredients, taste for salt (it may not be needed). Cover the pan with a lid and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Before serving, garnish the dish with fresh herbs.

Georgian solyanka is served hot. Fresh herbs, onions, and vegetables will never be superfluous for this dish. Tender, mellow beef in tomato perfectly harmonizes with pieces of pickles, creating a unique flavor of the Caucasian cuisine.