Solyanka

This is crazy soup, Russian and probably originated during their long Winters using pickled ingredients as available, my version is a quick version. 

The first time I had this soup was in a shopping centre cafe above the railway station in Riga, Latvia, I had pointed to a picture of the soup, my partner pointed at a different picture on the same wall, I got this amazing soup that I later learnt was Solyanka, she got prunes on top of stewed apples. Riga, everything is strange to us.

Anyway in a little oil chuck in a finely chopped onion, small pieces of bacon, diced carrot, then very small cubed potatoes, stir them around for a bit, add a de-seeded green chilli, a tablespoon of paprika, pinch of allspice. Now add a big squirt of tomato puree and push it around a bit, then add a beef stock pot in some boiling water, I also added a quarter of chopped cabbage. Solyanka requires at least three types of meat, but it's whatever you have, so chopped salami and chopped ham went in. 

Bring to a simmer and then add lots of gherkins sliced in rings, half a cup of the liquid from their jar, capers, and olives that have been halved. When your potatoes are cooked its done.

Serve with a slice of lemon and parsley, Vodka if you have some.