Solyanka, a typical Ukranian soup that is known to cure hangovers.

We already gave you some tips and tricks to get rid of your hangover. But every country has its own traditional dishes to make the process go faster. We like to give you a taste of the international anti-hangover cuisine. This time we bring you a recipe from Ukraine called Solyanka. Although in some occasions you will see it spelled in Roman lettres as Soljanka. This is a salty soup that is also quite popular in Russia. It usually contains a huge amount of ingredients, so it’s probably best to prepare this dish before you start drinking.

What can we say about Ukranians? Well, basically that the words ‘heavy drinkers’ can be considered almost a synonym. Like Poland and Russia it’s one of the key 3 drinking countries in Europe and probably the world. If you are not from one of these countries it’s probably not a great idea to join their pace when vodka is on the menu. Cause this is of course the most popular drink in Ukraine, although it’s often called horilka, which means ‘burning water’. Besides that Ukraine has some very good beers to offer, as well as kvas. Although we can hardly consider that last one an alcoholic drink, since it usually contains around 1% alcohol.

It’s no wonder that Ukranian mornings can be very tough, especially on untrained foreigners. There are actually a few soups that are known to cure hangovers but let’s have one at a time. We chose solyanka because it exists since at least the 17th century. It is believed that it has it’s origin in Ukraine and then gained popularity all over Russia too. As said it contains a great deal of ingredients, so we better get started. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
4 allspice berries
2,4 liter water
4 tablespoons beef base
1/2 head shredded cabage
100 gram chopped celery
1 tablespoon oil
2 medium chopped onions
2 chopped carrots
500 grams sliced kabanos sausage
2 cooked chicken breasts in cubes
150 grams of ham in cubes
3 large chopped dill pickles
170 grams of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of capers
90 grams of sliced black olives
400 grams stewed tomatoes
240 ml dry white wine
Salt (to taste)
120 ml sour cream
30 grams chopped fresh dill

Preparation:
First make a sachet from cheesecloth and fill this with the bay leaves, black peppercorns and allspice berries. Tie this sachet to the handle of a large pot and hang it in. Now fill the pot with the water and beef base and bring to a boil. Now add the shredded cabage and chopped celery. Wait till it boils again and then bring to a simmer. Leave it for 30 minutes.
In the meantime take a big frying pan and use it to heat up the oil. Put in the onions and carrots and wait till they get translucent. Then add the kabanos sausage, chicken, ham, pickles and tomato paste. Bring the whole thing to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 2 minutes. After that the content of your frying pan can be added to the pot.
After that you can also add the capers, olives and stewed tomatoes. Bring your pot to the point where it almost starts boiling. Then add the wine and let it simmer for 20 more minutes.
After this you remove the sachet from the pot and you may want to discard some fat from the surface. Season with salt to taste and serve with sour cream and dill as garnish. Usually solyanka is also eaten with bread on the side, preferably multigrain. And of course a Ukranian hangover cure is not complete without beer or more vodka. Budjmo!

Micky Bumbar

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