What is stew? Almost every person understands that this is some kind of liquid food, reminiscent of ordinary soup. But exactly how it should look and be prepared is a mystery. After all, in fact, there are a great many variations of this dish. And not only in traditional Russian cuisine, but also in world cooking. What is stew? In order to understand this, you need to delve a little deeper into history.

Origin of the word

In our country, like in no other region of the world, soups are common. Often they are not only a light first course, but also replace a full lunch. After all, soups today can be flavored with a good portion of meat or fish, vegetables, and dressings. In addition, they are traditionally served with freshly baked black or white bread and crackers.

But initially there was no such thing as soup in Rus'. There was the word “bread” or “stew.” This was the name for any liquid food that had to be eaten with a spoon, regardless of its composition and degree of thickness.

What is stew? Apparently, this is simply a synonym for the word “soup”. The latter term took root in our country during the time of Peter I. This was the name for liquid dishes of foreign origin. And then dishes from different countries became traditional for Russians, and therefore both terms are used.

But the word “soup” is more everyday, ordinary. And the “chowder” smacks of real Russian roots. This is supposed to be the name given to soups prepared according to old Russian recipes.

In old times

Russian soup is not some kind of independent dish with a clearly defined recipe. In the old days, “shti”, “bread”, “brew” and “pottage” were cooked from what was available. After all, these dishes were originally prepared by poor peasant families, and therefore often consisted of simple seasonal vegetables.

For example, historians believe that the first Russian stew was made from turnips long before potatoes appeared in our country. It’s hard to say how it was prepared and what the dish tasted like.

Whenever possible, the food was flavored with everything possible. They used butter, mashed flour, and a large amount of herbs. If possible, vegetables were cooked in strong vegetable or meat broth.

Some recipes were later refined, and the dishes became decorations on the tables of rich people. For example, fish soup was cooked in the clearest broth from the freshest fish. Kalya with cucumber brine is still very popular. So there were many variations of this dish in the old days, and there are also many of them in modern cooking.

Modern interpretation

What is stew from the point of view of a modern culinary specialist? Most people think that this can be called a group of light vegetable soups. In fact, such a dish is a decoction where one ingredient predominates, for example, potatoes, beans, lentils, cabbage, sorrel, etc. These soups are named after the main component, respectively, potato soup, lentil soup, etc.

The remaining ingredients of the dish should help highlight the outstanding taste of the main product, but not overwhelm it. In order for the stew to be tasty, it is not cooked for long. The products are immediately immersed in boiling water and boiled for about 30 minutes. Some chefs believe that stew cannot be cooked in fish or meat broth, otherwise the very meaning of the dish is lost. But a large amount of greens is welcome, such as dill, parsley and celery. An example of a stew from another national cuisine is the famous French onion soup.

Variations on the theme of stew

So what is stew? In fact, some chefs are not so strict in defining this dish. They believe that stew is a vegetable soup cooked in any broth. That is, it is permissible to add any meat, fish, smoked meats and mushrooms that improve the taste of the dish. In this case, the stew can be of any thickness, either light with a minimum of vegetables, or thick, a little thinner than a stew.

Traditional vegetable soup: recipe

The stew can be prepared very quickly. To prepare it you will need the following products:

Quick stew is prepared as follows:

Secrets of cooking a good dish

Soup and stew are practically synonymous. But most chefs believe that stew is still a light vegetable soup. And when preparing it you need to follow a few simple tips:

1. When choosing foods, you should give preference to quickly boiling vegetables. You should not prepare such a dish based on beets, sauerkraut or beans.
2. An essential component of the stew is onions. Other seasonings are selected individually. The most commonly used are pepper, dill and parsley.
3. You need to salt carefully, taking into account the characteristics of the vegetables. In almost all stews, salt is added in the middle of the process.
4. Vegetables are always immersed in boiling water, not cold water.
5. Do not overcook the stew, otherwise the broth will become cloudy.
6. In most cases, stews are cooked without fat and oil. However, when serving, they can be seasoned with sour cream.

Onion soup

1.25 liters of water, 4-6 onions, 1 leek, 1 parsley, 1 celery, 1 bunch of dill, 4-6 black peppercorns, 1 tsp. salt.
Cut the roots into strips and place in boiling water. Finely chop the leeks, grind with salt in a porcelain bowl and add to the boiling broth. Put pepper. When the onion has blossomed and the broth turns green, add salt, add chopped spicy herbs and after 3 minutes remove from heat. Close and let sit for 5 minutes.

Potato soup

1.5 liters of water, 5-6 potatoes, 1 onion, 0.5 heads of garlic (chopped), 3 bay leaves, 1 bunch of dill, 1 bunch of parsley, 608 black peppercorns.
Place chopped onion and diced potatoes in salted boiling water and cook until the potatoes are ready. Add spices 5-7 minutes, and spicy chopped herbs 2 minutes before readiness.

Turnip soup (turnip)

1.5 liters of water, 5-6 reps. 1 small rutabaga, 1 onion, 2 allspice peas, 2 clove buds, 4 black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 1 bunch of parsley, 1 bunch of dill, 4 cloves of chopped garlic.
Place chopped onion, diced rutabaga and turnips in salted boiling water and cook until tender. Add spices 10 minutes before, and spicy chopped herbs 2-3 minutes before readiness.

Lentil stew

1.5-1.75 liters of water, 1 glass of lentils, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 parsley, 3 bay leaves, 6 black peppercorns, 0.5 heads of garlic, 1 bunch of savory, salt to taste.
Soak the lentils for a day in cold water. Before cooking, rinse again, add cold water and place on moderate heat. When it boils, add the chopped roots and cook until the lentils are completely cooked (1-1.25 liters of liquid should remain). Then add chopped onion and other spices, except garlic and savory, add salt and cook over very low heat for another 10-12 minutes, then season with chopped garlic and savory, remove from heat and let steep for 5-8 minutes.

Chowder with millet and tomatoes

240 g of onion, 120 g of butter, 360 g of millet, 5-6 medium-sized carrots, 1 kg of 100 g of potatoes, 700 g of tomatoes, 6 liters of cubed broth, 360 g of sour cream, dill or parsley, salt to taste.
In a deep frying pan, fry finely chopped onion in oil, when it begins to brown - peeled and chopped roots and tomatoes. Cover with a lid and simmer. When the vegetables are half-ready, pour 6 liters of cubed broth into the pan, salt if necessary, let it boil, add the potatoes cut into strips and well-washed millet. Further cooking takes less than half an hour. When the ingredients are ready, add sour cream to the stew, sprinkle with chopped dill or parsley, and serve immediately.

Chowder "Rainbow"

0.5 pods of sweet pepper, 2 onions, 300 g pumpkin, 1 large eggplant, 4 small tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 4 sprigs of parsley, 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, 1 pinch of a mixture of dry herbs, salt, pepper, water.
Peel the vegetables and remove the seeds. Cut the tomatoes into 4 parts, the onion crosswise into 8 pieces, the sweet pepper into large strips, the pumpkin and eggplant into large strips, chop the garlic. Place the vegetables in a saucepan, add boiling water and vegetable oil, stir and cook until tender.
2-3 minutes before the end of cooking, add a mixture of herbs, finely chopped parsley, a pinch of salt and pepper to the soup.

Mushroom stew

300 g fresh or 50 g dried mushrooms, 1 carrot, parsley and celery root, 1 onion, 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, 0.5 cup pearl barley or rice, 3 potatoes, 1 tbsp. l. tomato paste, bay leaf, pepper, salt, herbs, 3 liters of water.
Boil mushroom broth, strain it, and finely chop the mushrooms. Cut the roots and onions into strips, fry in oil, pour in a little broth and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Put them in the broth, add mushrooms, separately cooked cereal, chopped potatoes, tomato paste, spices, salt and cook for 8-10 minutes.
When serving, sprinkle the soup with chopped parsley.

Vole (ancient stew)

Dilute rye flour with boiling water, cover the dish with a lid and let cool to a temperature of 25-28°C. Place a crust of rye bread into the resulting dough and let it sour. Boil water in a saucepan, add salt, pepper, beat the prepared dough (raschinu) well with a whisk or mixer.
Season the vole with onions sauteed in vegetable oil, boiled and chopped mushrooms (you can lightly fry them).

Rice soup with vegetables

3 tbsp. l. rice, 2 sweet peppers, 2 tomatoes, 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, 1 liter of water, salt.
Rinse the rice, add hot salted water and cook until almost done. Add finely chopped capsicum (along with seeds), chopped tomatoes, bring to a boil, pour in vegetable oil and let simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Potato soup with cucumbers

3 boiled potatoes, 3 fresh cucumbers, 1 liter of kvass, herbs, salt.
Finely chop the peeled potatoes and cucumbers, add salt and pour chilled kvass. When serving, sprinkle the stew with chopped parsley, dill or onion.

Potato soup with onions

4 potatoes, 1-2 onions, 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, 1 liter of water, salt.
Cut the peeled potatoes into thin slices, add boiling salted water, bring to a boil, cook for 5-6 minutes, then leave to infuse on the stove without heating for 8-10 minutes.
For the stew, serve onions cut into half rings with vegetable oil, which everyone doses themselves. Raw onions and butter add a nice kick to the dish.

All recipes provided by forum members of the site http://www..site/ are required.

Total read: 10632

Hearty, nutritious and very tasty, Russian soup has long been the main dish on the lunch menu. Delight your loved ones with a new culinary recipe - it is not only delicious, but also very easy to prepare.

Chowder in the oven

Beef – 400 g

Medium potatoes - 8 pcs.

Bulbs - 3-4 pcs.

Butter - 2-3 tbsp. l. or about 50 g

Salt, bay leaf, pepper at personal discretion

Separate the beef flesh from the bones and cut into small oblong pieces. Make broth from the bones.

Pour the prepared broth from the pan into a cast iron pot or clay pot, immerse the raw meat in it and simmer in the oven for half an hour at a temperature of 150-200 degrees.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into cubes and the onion into half rings. Fry the chopped onion until golden brown in a frying pan in boiling butter.

After half an hour, take our broth out of the oven, add potatoes to it and continue cooking on the stove over low heat.

After 10 minutes, add fried onion half rings, bay leaves, chopped parsley and/or dill to the broth and cook for another 2 minutes.

Potato soup

4 potato tubers, 1 onion, 2 tbsp. tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 liter of water, salt to taste

Cut the peeled potatoes into thin slices, and the onion into half rings. Pour boiling salted water over the potatoes (you need to peel the potatoes before cooking, otherwise the tubers will darken), bring to a boil, cook for 5 - 6 minutes, then leave to infuse on the stove without heating for 8 - 10 minutes. and only then serve it to the table.

Potato soup goes with chopped onions and vegetable oil. Each of the diners doses the onions and butter himself.

This stew is eaten without bread.

Chowder with sauerkraut

400 g sauerkraut, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, 1 liter of water

Use sauerkraut with brine. (Cabbage cannot be kept without brine for even a single minute, since vitamin C is immediately destroyed - under the influence of oxygen in the air, light.)

Pour boiling salted water over the cabbage, add finely chopped onion and grated carrots. Bring the stew to a boil and cook until tender, tightly closing the lid, then let it brew for 15 - 20 minutes.

Chowder with potatoes, millet and tomatoes

6 potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 3 - 4 tomatoes, 200 g sour cream, 2 tbsp. spoons of millet, salt, herbs

Place onions in a deep bowl and fry. When it is browned, add finely chopped carrots and fresh tomatoes, add a little water, cover with a lid and simmer until half cooked. Then pour boiling water, add salt and let it boil. After this, place the chopped potatoes and well-washed millet into boiling water. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat until done. At the end of cooking, add sour cream and boil. When serving, sprinkle with parsley or dill.

Millet soup with vegetables

3 tbsp. spoons of millet, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 tbsp. spoon of butter, 1 liter of water, salt to taste

Rinse the millet thoroughly, add chopped carrots, pour boiling water, bring to a boil and cook until tender. Then place the pan with the stew on a wooden board (so that the heat does not escape through the bottom), close tightly with a lid and leave for 15 - 20 minutes.

Finely chop the onion, mix with butter and add to the finished stew. If desired, you can add sour cream to the soup.

Pearl barley soup with vegetables

3 tbsp. spoons of pearl barley, 1 potato, 1/2 head of cabbage, 1 tbsp. spoon of sour cream, 1 tbsp. spoon of mayonnaise, 1 liter of water, salt to taste

Rinse pearl barley, add hot salted water and cook until tender, then add peeled potatoes cut into slices, bring to a boil, add cabbage and leave for 15 - 20 minutes. with low heat. Season with a mixture of sour cream and mayonnaise.

Chowder with rice and vegetables

3 tbsp. spoons of rice, 2 bell peppers, 2 tomatoes, 2 tbsp. tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 liter of water, salt to taste

Pour washed and sorted rice with hot salted water, bring to a boil, add finely chopped pepper (along with seeds), chopped tomato, bring to a boil again, add vegetable oil and leave for 8 - 10 minutes.

Onion soup

1 liter of water, 1 large onion, 1 pc. leeks, 5 black peppercorns, parsley, celery, dill, salt to taste

Cut the parsley and celery roots into strips and place in boiling water. Finely chop the onions and leeks, grind with salt in a mortar and add to the boiling broth. Add black pepper. After 7 – 10 minutes. add salt and add finely chopped parsley, celery and dill. Let it boil for 3 minutes. and remove from heat. Before serving, the stew should be infused in a saucepan under the lid for 7 minutes.

Meat stew

350 g meat (beef), 250 g potatoes, 1 large onion, 50 g butter, pepper, bay leaf, salt to taste, 1/2 cup wine

It is better to cook stews based on meat broth in such a way as to prevent boiling. It is advisable to bring the broth to a boil, and then, after extinguishing the burner, let it brew for 40 - 60 minutes. with the lid tightly closed. To make the broth ready faster, the bones should be chopped, and the meat and poultry should be cut into pieces.

Make bone broth. Rinse the pulp in cold water, remove the tendons, beat and cut into small oblong slices.

Pour the broth into a clay pot or cast iron, throw in slices of meat and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. in the oven at a temperature of 150 – 200°C. While the meat is cooking, cut the potatoes into small cubes, the onion into half rings and fry in boiling oil. Then put the potatoes in the pot with the meat, cook them for no more than 15 minutes, then add the onions and cook again for another 5 - 10 minutes. At the end of cooking, add chopped herbs (parsley, dill), bay leaf and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. You can add a little dry wine to the almost finished dish to improve the taste. Serve directly in a pot or cast iron. The stew is especially tasty if you eat it with a wooden spoon. This dish serves as both the first and the second at the same time.

Hearty stew

100 g turkey or chicken, 50 g potatoes, 15 g millet, 20 g onions, 15 g lard, 5 g dried mushrooms, bay leaf, herbs, salt.

Be sure to sort the millet and rinse it several times in cold water until the water becomes clear. Soak the mushrooms and peel the potatoes in advance.

Pour water into a saucepan and add millet, turkey, mushrooms and bay leaf. When the turkey is half cooked, add diced potatoes to the chowder. Cook for another 10 minutes. Chop the onion and fry in lard until golden brown, add it to the stew at the end of cooking. Boil the stew, add salt and sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.

Chowder with wine

100 g beef, 125 g potatoes, 40 g onions, 50 g butter, 13 g garlic, 20 ml dry wine, 5 g carrots, 50 g parsley (root)

This stew is prepared in a clay pot or cast iron. First, you should prepare a strong transparent broth, into which you need to put raw potatoes, previously cut into cubes, add fried onions, parsley, and carrots. Cook until the potatoes are cooked. Then chop the boiled meat and put it in the stew. Boil and add dry wine, chopped garlic and herbs.

Russian stew

1/4 medium-sized chicken, 50 g potatoes, 1/2 parsley root, 1 clove garlic, 1 carrot, 2 black peppercorns, 15 g butter, bay leaf, parsley, dill and celery, salt to taste

Boil regular chicken broth, peel the potatoes, then cut them into slices. Chop the carrots, parsley root and fry the onion until light golden brown. Finely chop the garlic, parsley, dill and celery. Then remove the chicken from the broth, cut it into small pieces and put it back into the broth. If you add chicken heart, lung and liver to the broth, the stew will become even more flavorful.

Add potatoes, boil, add fried carrots, onions, parsley root, as well as bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic and herbs. Boil again.

Pour the finished stew into plates, add sour cream and serve.

Chowder in Suvorov style

50 g fish fillet, 1 glass of fish broth, 50 g potatoes, 10 g onions, 10 g carrots, 20 g fresh mushrooms, 1 clove of garlic, 3 g herbs, 5 g butter, 1 slice of lemon

Cut the fish fillet into pieces, lightly fry in butter on both sides, put in a cast iron pot or pan, pour in fish broth, add sliced ​​raw potatoes and cook. Fry the onion along with mushrooms and carrots, put everything in the stew before serving. When serving, add crushed garlic, chopped herbs, and a slice of lemon.

The stew is eaten with kulebyaka or other pies.

Chowder “Petrovskaya”

200 g lamb, 3 – 4 pcs. potatoes, 1/2 cup millet, carrots, onions, 2 tbsp. spoons of fat, 1 pc. parsley or celery roots, herbs, salt, pepper to taste

Cut the lamb pulp into cubes, put in a clay pot, pour 700 ml of water, add parsley or celery roots and cook until tender. Remove the lamb and strain the broth. Put potatoes, sautéed carrots and onions, washed millet, cooked lamb into the broth and cook until the millet is ready. Season the stew with salt, chopped parsley or celery and dill.

Nowadays we cook soups, and we call stew a food whose taste is far from ideal, or a soup whipped up from what is “lying around” in the refrigerator and on the shelves of kitchen cabinets. Although the stew can be put on a par with borscht, cabbage soup, solyanka and fish soup. In terms of consistency and method of preparation, these are, of course, soups, but, like stews, they are given their own names and their characteristics are indicated. In order for a liquid dish to have the right to be called a stew, it must be “salted” by one ingredient. Another important difference is that if the soup is cooked in meat broth, the stew has rather a light decoction of the main ingredient. If potatoes are used as the main product, the result is potato soup, if cabbage is used, cabbage soup is obtained, if mushrooms are used, mushroom soup is obtained.

The most famous is lentil stew, which has become a symbol of neglect of family values ​​for the sake of meager material benefits. For a meal of lentils, Esau gave his younger brother Jacob his right of seniority. However, in the Old Testament, where this story is mentioned, the word “pottage” does not appear; it appeared in the retelling of the biblical parable to emphasize how low Esau valued his birthright.

There are others, such as corn chowder and the Belgian fish chowder waterzooi, now also made with chicken.

How to cook waterzoy

Products
Cod fillet - 2 pieces
Carrots - 2 pieces
Onion - 1 piece
Leek - 1 piece
Celery stalks - 8 pieces
Parsley - 70 grams
Garlic - 2 cloves
Egg yolk - 2 pieces
Cream - 1/4 cup
Bay leaf - 2 pieces
Black peppercorns - 5-8 pieces
Coriander seeds - 10 pieces
Butter - 30 grams
Water - 6 glasses
Salt - to taste

Cooking in a saucepan
1. Chop half an onion, the green part of a leek and 1 carrot, place in a saucepan.
2. Add here 3 stalks of celery, parsley stalks, garlic, bay leaf, coriander, black pepper.
2. Pour 6 glasses of water into a saucepan with vegetables and spices and cook the broth for half an hour after boiling.
3. Strain the finished broth through a colander; the vegetables from it are no longer needed.
4. While the broth is cooking, cut the white part of the leek into half rings, and 1 carrot, 5 celery stalks and half an onion into cubes.
5. In a saucepan with thick walls, melt the butter and saute the chopped vegetables in it for 6 minutes, until soft.
4. Cut the cod fillet into pieces 3 centimeters wide, add to the fried vegetables, pour in the broth.
5. Cook the stew for 12 minutes from the moment of boiling, do not increase the cooking time, otherwise the fish will become tough, add salt before turning off.
6. Using a slotted spoon, place the fish and vegetables on a plate.
7. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with 2 egg yolks, then pour in half a glass of broth and mix well.
8. Pour the egg-cream mixture into the slightly cooled broth and stir.
9. Place fish and vegetables on portioned plates for first courses, pour over the stew, and garnish with parsley.
10. Serve with thin slices of white bread.

Lentil soup

Products
Lentils - 1 cup
Meat or vegetable broth - 1.5 liters
Lemon - 1 piece
Ground black pepper - 1 teaspoon
Paprika - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1 heaped teaspoon

How to cook lentil soup
1. Pour meat or vegetable broth into the pan and put on fire.
2. Rinse the lentils under cold water.
3. Pour lentils into the pan without waiting for the water to heat up.
4. Cook lentils for 20-40 minutes, depending on the type of cereal (cook green lentils for 40 minutes, brown - 25, red - 25 minutes).
5. Add salt and all seasonings to the stew.
6. Wash the lemon, cut in half and squeeze out the juice.
7. Pour lemon juice into lentil soup.

Lentil stew with savory and garlic

• 1.5 liters of water;
• 130 g lentils soaked for a day;
• 1 carrot;
• 1 onion;
• 1 parsley root;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 50 g green savory;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 5 pieces. black peppercorns;
• salt to taste.

Bring the lentils over medium heat until cooked, adding finely chopped parsley root and carrots. Then add chopped onion, bay leaves, pepper and salt. After 10 minutes, add crushed garlic and chopped savory greens. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

How to cook chowder with onions and parsley root

• 1 liter of water;
• 5 onions;
• 1 parsley root;
• 1 leek stalk;
• 1 celery root;
• 1 bunch of parsley;
• 1 bunch of dill;
• 5 pieces. black peppercorns;
• salt to taste.

Chop the onion and leek and grate with salt. Place finely chopped parsley root and celery root into boiling water. After 10 minutes, add grated onion and pepper. When the broth acquires a green tint, add dill and parsley and salt. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Leave covered for 10 minutes.

Lentil soup with parsley and dill

• 1 liter of water;
• 1 chicken;
• 200 g lentils;
• 5 potato tubers;
• 2 carrots;
• 1 parsley root;
• 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 1 bunch of dill;
• sour cream.

Cut the chicken into pieces, place in boiling water, after 5 minutes add the lentils. After 30 minutes, add the diced potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes. Cut the carrots into circles, chop the onion, chop the parsley root and fry in oil. Add the fried vegetables and bay leaf to the stew, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Serve garnished with herbs and sour cream.

How to make Thyme and Lemon Chowder

• 1 kg of assorted fish;
• 1 thyme shoot;
• 3 shallots;
• 3 potato tubers;
• 4 green bananas;
• 1 lemon;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• ground black pepper;
• red pepper seeds;
• salt.

Lightly marinate the fish in lemon juice and place in a pan with 1.5 liters of water, add garlic and cook until cooked. Then remove the bones from the fish, put it back into the broth, add chopped potatoes, salt, seasoning, bananas and bring to a boil. Cook for another 10 minutes.