History

Soljanka is a Russian-Ukrainian classic that migrated west to East Germany through Soviet influence in the postwar GDR period; the dish became standardised at virtually every East German cafeteria, school canteen and Sunday family kitchen between 1949 and 1989. After reunification, the dish nearly disappeared from West German consciousness but remained a Berlin staple, particularly in the eastern districts of Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Treptow. The dish is now a Berlin Eastern-bloc-nostalgia (Ostalgie) icon, served at Zur Letzten Instanz, Mogg and most traditional East Berlin restaurants.

Common allergens: Dairy, Sulphites

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 35 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil or lard
  • 2 large yellow onions, finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 1 tsp hot paprika or pinch of cayenne
  • 1 tsp ground caraway
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2L good beef stock
  • 300g smoked Bockwurst, Cabanossi or Polish kielbasa, sliced 1cm thick
  • 300g cured cooked Kasseler (smoked pork loin), or smoked ham, diced 1.5cm
  • 200g good German salami or smoked Polish kabanos, sliced
  • 300g pickled gherkins (Gewürzgurken), sliced into thin half-moons (drained, with brine reserved)
  • 120ml pickled gherkin brine (the structural sour note)
  • 150g pitted black olives (dry-cured or Kalamata), sliced
  • 60g drained capers
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 can (400g) Italian whole peeled tomatoes (crushed by hand)
  • 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika paste (Edes Csemege; optional but classic)
  • Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • To serve: 250ml soured cream, 1 lemon cut in wedges, 1 small bunch fresh dill (finely chopped), thick slices of dark Berliner roggenbrot rye bread

Method

  1. Heat the sunflower oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the diced onions; cook 10 minutes until pale gold.
  2. Add the garlic, sweet paprika, hot paprika, caraway and bay leaves; cook 90 seconds (paprika burns above this; keep heat moderate).
  3. Stir in the tomato paste and Hungarian paprika paste; cook 2 minutes until darkened.
  4. Add the diced red pepper and the smoked Kasseler / ham; cook 3 minutes to render and flavour.
  5. Pour in the beef stock and crushed tomatoes; bring to a simmer.
  6. Add the sliced sausages and salami; simmer 25 minutes uncovered to develop the broth.
  7. Add the sliced pickled gherkins, gherkin brine, sliced olives and capers. Simmer a further 15 minutes; the broth should be deeply red-orange, salty-sour, and packed with meat and pickles.
  8. Taste and adjust: more salt if needed, more brine if the soup is too rich, a final pinch of pepper.
  9. Discard the bay leaves.
  10. Ladle into deep wide bowls. Crown each bowl with a generous heaped tablespoon of soured cream (the cream is structural; it tames the acidity), a lemon wedge balanced on the rim, and a heavy scatter of fresh chopped dill.
  11. Serve with thick slices of dark Berlin rye on the side for dunking and broth-mopping.

Tip from the editors. The pickle brine is the structural sour note; do not skip and do not substitute with vinegar. The soup is even better the next day; the flavours meld and the broth deepens. Berlin Ostalgie convention: serve with a Berliner Pilsner on the side.

Where to eat soljanka

Soljanka in Berlin

Zur Letzten Instanz ★ 4.1

German€€mitteUntil 22:00 Tue-Sat (kitchen), full service until late

Zur Letzten Instanz, Berlin's oldest restaurant since 1621, serves traditional Prussian tavern food in the Nikolaiviertel through the evening.

Try: Eisbein, Sauerbraten, Koenigsberger Klopse

Waisenstrasse 14-16, 10179 Berlin

Max und Moritz ★ 4.2

Berlin Tavern€€kreuzberg

Max und Moritz on Berlin's Oranienstrasse has cooked Prussian tavern classics since 1902 in the original ceramic-tiled dining room; the Klopse and rouladen.

Signature: Koenigsberger Klopse, Beef rouladen

Order: The Koenigsberger Klopse with caper-cream sauce; the beef rouladen with red cabbage in winter.

Tip: Closed Monday lunch. The original 1902 dining room is the seating to book; phone two weeks out.

Oranienstrasse 162, 10969 Berlin

Lutter und Wegner ★ 4.1

Berlin Brasserie€€€mitte

Lutter und Wegner on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt has cooked traditional Wiener Schnitzel since 1811; the wood-panelled room runs Sunday classics and the long.

Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten

Order: The Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber-potato salad; the Berlin sauerbraten in winter.

Tip: Sunday lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating than weekday dinner. Book two weeks ahead by phone.

Charlottenstrasse 56, 10117 Berlin

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