Pickle with pork and pearl barley

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   Prepare the ingredients for making soup. It is better to take the meat on the bones, not too lean, then the broth will turn out tastier and richer. Cucumbers for pickle are best suited salted, not pickled. But they are not so easy to find now. Then take home-made salt, not store-bought, there is not so much vinegar in them.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the pearl barley well under running cold water until the water becomes transparent. Remove the garbage from it. Fill the cereal with cold water for 30 minutes.

3. Step 3:

   

   Put the meat in a saucepan with cold clean water. Use filtered or bottled water, as the taste of the soup will depend on its taste. I have a 4-liter pot. Put the pan on medium heat.

4. Step 4:

   

   Wait for the water to boil, remove the foam formed with a slotted spoon. If you miss this moment, the broth will become cloudy and ugly. Make the fire minimal, cover the pan with a lid. Cook the broth with meat for a total of 1.5 hours.

5. Step 5:

   

   After half an hour of cooking the broth, throw the pearl barley into it. Pre-drain the water in which it was soaked from it. Add salt. Put a small amount to begin with, so as not to over-salt, as we will pour a glass of salted brine. Leave the broth to cook further, already with pearl barley.

6. Step 6:

   

   While the broth is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Cut the peeled onion into small cubes.

7. Step 7:

   

   Wash and peel the carrots well. Grate it on a coarse grater.

8. Step 8:

   

   Also grate cucumbers. I prefer to rub them rather than cut them. So it turns out both more beautiful and tastier.

10. Step 9:

    

    Wash the potatoes, peel and cut into medium pieces.

11. Step 10:

    

    Wash and dry the greens with a paper or plain towel. Slice it.

12. Step 11:

    

    Make a roast. Pour vegetable oil into the pan. Lay out the onion and carrot. Fry them for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

13. Step 12:

    

    Add cucumbers to the vegetables. Pour in a glass of brine. Stir and simmer the vegetables a little. I cover the pan with a lid and simmer them on low heat for about 10 minutes. Cucumbers, due to the fact that they are grated, will quickly become soft.

14. Step 13:

    

    Add tomato paste to the roast, stir. Fry the vegetables already without a lid until the liquid has completely evaporated.

15. Step 14:

    

    15 minutes before the end of cooking the broth, remove the meat from it, it will already have time to cook. Toss the potatoes into the broth. Cool the meat a little, and then cut into small pieces. Return the meat back to the broth.

16. Step 15:

    

    When the potatoes are cooked, it will happen 10 minutes after they are laid, add the roast to the soup. Wait until boiling and boil the soup for 5 minutes.

17. Step 16:

    

    Put the bay leaf, peppers and chopped herbs. Wait for boiling again and turn off the heating. Cover the pot with a lid and let the soup brew for 15 minutes. When serving, add a spoonful of sour cream to the serving.