Let's start with the background. Pickle – third after soup and soup soup, which I remember talking about the Russian cuisine. The first documentary evidence about him was recorded by a French restaurateur by the name of Auguste Escoffier. He described the soup as a chicken soup with cucumbers, roots of celery and parsley. The soup was cooked for 40 minutes, then refueled cream and egg yolks. At the court of pickle prepared with lemon juice, it was delicious and expensive dish. Interesting, but in the works of Nikolai Gogol pickle is used to refer to pie minced meat with cucumber brine. It took a Box from the novel "Dead souls". Once the soups which is now called the pickle, called Kalami and prepared them with several types of meat with lemon juice and brine. Pickles was included in the recipe much later. Classic soup-rassolnik preparing broth from poultry or beef offal, to be exact – from the liver and kidneys. However, often stewed vegetables and cook in meat broth, and even fish. On what the basis for the broth you take, will depend on the choice of cereals. Traditionally, the pickle is cooked in beef or poultry giblets with pearl barley. In the preparation of soup of pearl barley (our version) is to cook it separately and add to the soup, otherwise the soup may acquire a blue tint. Sour soup always made with the addition of brine or pickle. Sometimes to enhance the taste it adds both. The brine should be one fourth of the whole fluid. Before you pour in the soup, it should boil and drain. The boiling will enhance the flavor and prevent fermentation, and filtering is necessary in order to clear the brine from particles of spices. Pickle pickle should not be, it is better to add into the soup more brine. Chefs don't salt the soup and adjust the taste using the brine or pickle. This will be enough.

About the broth. The broth for the soup cooked in the traditional way, preferably not from meat, and giblets of poultry, lambs or calves. The broth is definitely a quarter should consist of cucumber pickle. The taste of the "ideal" of the pickle should be very gentle with acidity. It is important, in this case, the correct proportions of brine, pickles, and the neutral sink, which is a potato or sour cream, which is added to the soup when serving. I have chicken broth, cooked with brine (4:1) and filtered for purity, it I is prepared separately in advance, so cold broth possible to catch the fat. When fillet is cooked in the broth, I remove it and pour the brine, bring to a boil, remove from fire, strain, give to cool down, this again is filtered cold broth to the gauze remained fat

Now actually to the cooking. What is the meaning of this recipe? the secret is simple: pickle I receive, as if pouring thick "porridge" soup =)) so: on the bottom of the bowl multivarki pour oil for frying, add finely chopped onion, tomato and grated carrots (tomatoes you can substitute tomato paste). Put the frying mode for 60 minutes (I'll tell you on the go, why so) and fry the vegetables for 10 to 13 minutes.

In advance separately were cooked barley (why exactly is written above, at the beginning of the story). I use the bagged cereals at 100g/bag.

In malware already fried filling (I constantly stirred. That I would not write about the miracle abilities of slow cookers, I have it first, and better still to stop once or twice), there was added pre-boiled chicken fillet (ditch owner, you can cut - as you prefer), pour the cereal is already cooked and add peeled and diced potatoes. At this stage pour in the 1/3 Cup of broth and add the prunes (pre-cut each in half and washed). In fact, now our mass is thick and reminiscent of porridge. In the frying mode, the faster the extinguishing of this "mess", so we are cooking in "grilling", not "stewing". this "mess" I periodically stir. This is the first and the main stage. Thanks to this method of cooking the soup/the soup turns out rich, but not Intrusive, you can really taste each ingredient in it, and there were common harmonious flavor and indescribable texture of the soup.

The second stage is the addition of cucumbers. This should be given special attention. Cucumbers have to be salted, not pickled! better homemade, so you can be sure in the quality of the brine. Cucumbers I RUB on a grater. The brine is pre-mixed with the broth (if cooking the broth). Grated cucumber added 20 minutes before the end of the program the slow cooker (that is, 40 minutes of cooking). Simmer another 5 minutes.

And the final stage. Add the remaining 2/3 of the broth and simmer for another 15 minutes before the end of the program.

After you boil the pickle, do not rush to submit. Leave the soup in the slow cooker. Pickle, as the soup needed "rest". Thanks to this small secret dish will have a rich, aromatic and rich taste. Traditionally, the pickle is served with freshly baked rye bread and seasoned with sour cream. Fish variation of sour cream that doesn't run. On the table the soup is served with rye bread and sour cream. I serve it with toast and slices of cucumber.