No. 37 — Rassolnik with Kidney

Take one ox kidney, remove the membrane and soak it in cold water, changing the water several times. Put into boiling water and bring to the boil; drain in a sieve and rinse with cold water. Bring fresh water to the boil and repeat this blanching and rinsing once more.

Meanwhile make white broth from 1–2 Russian pounds of beef. Bring to the boil three times as usual and remove the scum. Add the kidney, a bunch of herbs, trimmings of the carefully shaped soup roots, and the skins and cores of washed salted cucumbers.

Pour boiling water over the peeled and shaped roots and drain. Add ½ spoonful of butter and a glass of rich strained broth, cover and stew at the edge of the stove or in the oven. When half done, add shaped potatoes and continue under the lid until tender.

Wash ⅓ glass of pearl barley, cover with cold water, cook until tender, drain and rinse with cold water. Peel and core the salted cucumbers, cut them lengthwise into quarters and slice the flesh diagonally. Blanch the cucumber slices in salted boiling water, drain and rinse cold.

Strain and boil the cucumber brine. Dilute one spoonful of flour in ½ glass of cold water, mix with some of the brine and boil; dilute with all the strained stock. Add boiled cucumber brine to taste and bring to the boil several times.

Add everything prepared: kidney cut into thin slices across the grain, pearl barley, cucumbers, roots with potatoes and sour cream. Bring to the boil, then pour into a tureen over dill. If kidneys are unavailable, use small pieces of the boiled beef instead and start with more beef for the stock.

To provide