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Attention pickle-lovers! Rassolnik dill pickle soup is one for you! It’s tender bites of slowly cooked pork ribs, chunky potato, chewy pearl barley and plenty of pickles all swimming in a deliciously tangy and briny broth. It’s a real dill-light. (I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it!)
There is something so wholesome about a soup made with barley, which is why I reach for it again and again. If you love it like I do, or just want to give it a try, check out my Beef Barley Soup.
Thick and hearty stews and soups that feature rich meats and fermented vegetables kind of your thing? These are the cornerstones of Eastern European cooking so allow me to make a couple more recommendations: Russian sweet and sour beef stew (solyanka), Polish kielbasa and sauerkraut and my mother’s Ukrainian borscht, another pork rib soup made with pork stock.
I grew up with fermented vegetables lining the pantry shelves; pickled cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, beets, cauliflower and cabbage. Back then, it was a means to preserve food and make fresh produce last longer, whereas today fermented food is mostly associated with good gut health.
But did you know pickled vegetable brine is an incredibly effective hangover cure! Make up a double batch of this rassolnik dill pickle soup and freeze it so you have a remedy-in-waiting when you need it most!
Dill pickle soup recipe in 5 simple steps
- Make the stock. Aromatics onion, carrot, celery, bay and peppercorn gently steep the pork ribs into tender submission and create an unctuous gelatinous clear broth for the soup base. Once cooled, strip the meat from the bones into bite-size bits. Tip: use your This is an affiliate link.Instant Pot to cut the cook time from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes.
- Cook the barley. Rinsing first will remove the excess starch and cooking separately will keep the pearls in shape and bitey. Skipping this step and tipping the barley straight into the stock will make the soup too thick and claggy.
- Start the soup. This is the steamy and delicious part where the strained stock simmers with the cooked pork, pearl barley and potatoes.
- Sauté the vegetables. Softening the onion, carrot, garlic and pickles in butter promotes caramelisation, making the soup more complexly flavoured. Don’t be tempted to just boil them in the stock!
- Bring together: the sautéed vegetables, the soup, and the all-important pickle brine. The vinegary notes from the liquid will enliven the soup giving it some zip and contrast to the pleasantly oily stock.
Important recipe tips and notes
- Not to be confused with cream-based Polish ogórkowa; another soup which calls for potatoes and pickled cucumbers but no barley or meat.
- Stock: This recipe is soup with pork stock. I make my own with the pork ribs, but you can cut 30 minutes by using a decent ready-made chicken or beef stock.
- Rinse and cook the barley separately. This prevents starch thickening the lovely clear broth and making the soup thick and sticky.
- Sprinkle with fresh herbs, dill or parsley, to finish. It uplifts the flavour and looks pretty too!
What goes with it
I don’t need to tell you that bread goes with soup! But I will say, choose a tight crumb so your slice doesn’t get too soggy. My favourite with most Russian recipes is a sour rye.
Now, while this soup is a hearty beast and doesn’t require sides, if you have picky eaters at the table, it’s best to be prepared. Have a couple of on-theme offerings so no-one goes hungry. I suggest:
- Eggplant caviar (ikra) for slathering on the bread.
- Dumplings pelmeni stuffed with beef and pork, or vegetarian vareniki (just omit the bacon). Both recipes are the Russian equivalent of a pasta parcel. No-one is turning them down!
Storage and leftovers
I dare say rassolnik is even better after a few days in the fridge, which makes this pork rib soup a great dish to prepare a day or two in advance. It will keep 4-5 days refrigerated in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container.
Tip: If your dill pickle soup has gone a bit stewy, add a splash more stock or water to bring back to brothy glory.
More soup recipes to try
Dill Pickle Soup Rassolnik
Ingredients
For the stock
- 500g / 1 lbs porks ribs, or cubed pork shoulder
- 1/2 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 This is an affiliate link.bay leaves
- 4-5 peppercorns
- salt, a pinch
- 1½ litre / 10 cups water
For the soup
- 100g / 1/2 cup pearl barley
- 2-3 potatoes, cubed
- 3-4 / 2/3 cup dill pickles, diced
- 125ml / 1/2 cup dill pickle brine
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1-2 carrots, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1-2 This is an affiliate link.bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, or parsley for serving
Instructions
- To make the stock combine the ingredients and cook over low heat for 1 hour-1.5 hours skimming the foam, which will rise to the surface once in a while. Alternatively, this could be done in Instant Pot, which will cut down the cooking time to 30 minutes on high pressure plus 20-23 for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Alternatively, skip the first step and use already prepared beef or chicken broth. (See recipe notes at the bottom for instructions.)
- Add the pearl barley to a medium pot filled with cold water, bring to a boil, then continue cooking for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water thoroughly and set aside till needed.
- Once the stock is ready, remove the pork ribs from the stock, allow them to cool. Meanwhile strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetable. Once the ribs are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, discard visible fat and cartilage, then shred or cut into bite-sized pieces, discard the bones.
- Add the strained stock to a soup pot and bring to a simmer, to the same pot add the shredded meat, the partially cooked pearl barley and cubed potatoes with a good pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes.
- While the soup is cooking sauté the chopped onions and diced carrots in 1-2 tbsp of butter for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, diced dill pickles and continue sautéing over low heat for 5 minutes longer, then stir in the tomato paste and scrape the contents of the pan into the soup pot, pour in the pickle brine and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the barley is cooked all the way through.
- Once finished cooking add salt and black pepper to taste. Take of the heat, cover with a lid and let it sit for 15 minutes. This will allow the flavour to meld together. Serve sprinkle with fresh dill and parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
