Pickle Leningrad classic

1. Rinse the pearl barley. Then put it in a bowl or saucepan and soak it in clean water for about a day. Periodically drain the water and collect a new one.

2. Wash the lamb under running water and wipe with paper towels. Cut it into pieces.Transfer to a frying pan with a thick bottom and fry in half vegetable oil over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer the fried pieces of lamb to a saucepan and pour clean water. Pour the pre-soaked pearl barley into the same place and put the pan on the stove. Bring the contents to a boil over medium heat and remove the foam that forms on the surface. Then reduce the heat to a minimum.

3. Peel the potatoes, rinse and cut into small cubes. As soon as the pearl barley becomes soft, throw the sliced potatoes into a saucepan, cover with a lid and cook until tender.

4. Peel onions and carrots, rinse. Finely chop the onion into cubes, cut the carrots into strips. Pour the remaining vegetable oil into the pan, heat it and pour the chopped vegetables. Fry the onion and carrot until soft.

5. Separately grate the pickled cucumbers on a coarse grater and add them to the pan to the fried vegetables. Pour in the pickle from under the cucumbers, stir and simmer the vegetables in the brine until the liquid evaporates in half. Add tomato paste to the pan and mix. Bring the contents to a boil and pour into a saucepan with lamb.

6. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, toss the bay leaf. Increase the heat, bring the pickle to a boil and remove the pan from the stove.

Before serving, let the pickle stand in a saucepan covered with a lid for 10 minutes to infuse. Then pour into serving plates and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with sour cream.

Bon appetit!