I must start off by stating the fact that I love this soup! It is one of my favorites and today I ate three portions of it. My belly is an ocean now, making those jiggly water sounds :D. I was not very happy about olives being this weeks ingredient to use and I got stuck for a second there. All hope was lost the moment I read that dreaded word. But I was not going to give in to the sorrow(insert overly dramatic voice)! Now, you must know, I never, ever, ever eat olives and whenever I try them, thanks to someone who talks me into it by saying that one person's taste buds change with years, I have to hold myself back not to spit out the berry, fruit, seed? What is it?!

So, I was not really excited about this week, that is until I slapped myself on my forehead for not realizing that Soļanka is the perfect dish to make. Olives are essential for this dish, they give the soup a taste that is unmatched and unique. It is sweet and spicy at the same time and all the weird ingredients come together in a wonderful zest symphony in the dish. The best part is, after you boil it, you have the little extra amazing taste from olives but there is no need to eat them(I gave mine to my boyfriend who is an avid olive lover).

Soļanka, or Sausage Soup, is a very popular dish in Latvia, every grandma and mom knows how to make it and every household has their own recipe and knickknacks of how to prepare the ideal soup. You may have noticed that I called the soup ''Sausage Soup'' and that is for the simple reason that there are two meat types that you can make the soup with and, sometimes, you have three different types of meat in the broth. The classical recipe includes smoked meat, which is very, very, extremely popular in Latvia but a lot of households have adopted another method of producing the yummy goodness.

I used the same method today. What I did was take some leftover sausages from the fridge and use those. But that is not the only weirdly amazing ingredient in this soup. Pickles, olives, lime, and three different kinds of sausages are just the beginning of an amazing soup that you can eat in bucket-loads!

The products I used are perfect for 6 portions and maybe even a little more if you are not like me, the forever eater. The soup it the ideal dish to have in this cold weather. It took me a little over an hour to prepare as this is an easy dish to make and does not need long boiling as the various ingredients make the flavors saturated already.

Ingredients

100 to 150g olives(preferably black ones)
1 small lime
2,5l water
9 potatoes
4 medium size carrots
300g pickles
1 small onion
500ml tomato sauce
sausages or smoked meat according to preferences
salt and pepper
Paprika spice and maybe a little bit of chili powder
Sour cream
Greens for garnishing
Dark bread

The first thing you have to do is peel your potatoes and carrots

Cut up your pickles, potatoes, carrots, sausages/meat in cubes. Potatoes and sausages should be bigger while carrots and pickles smaller

Dice the onion into tiny pieces

You can do it all on the same cutting board as the flavors are all going to mix together either way. The dreaded pickle juice can spread this time

The proportions here are off, you will have much more potatoes

Now, take out a pan put some oil on it and heat it up

Add all of the onions and let them simmer for a minute, then add in the carrots and leave for around five more minutes. Do not forget to mix up the mixture every couple of seconds

After that, reduce the heat and add in the tomato sauce, put on the lid and let it simmer for five more minutes

Take a pot, a big one, and add the water to it

Take the pan off of the stove and replace it with the pot, bring the water to boil

Put in the potatoes in the pot and add the mixture from the pan as well, make sure the water is boiling all the time

Wait for around five minutes and then add the pickles and sausages in it

Slice the lime into halves and throw these into the pot, add the olives and all of the spices

Be generous with salt and pepper

Reduce the heat and put the lid on the pot, boil until the potatoes are soft

Remember. You can not just follow instructions while making a soup. It is not just throwing ingredients together and hoping that it is going to come out good. You have to taste constantly and experiment without compromises. If the lime is too strong for you, take it out mid-boiling, if there are not enough spice, add some more salt and pepper. Taste, taste, taste!

Now, your dish is ready. It goes amazingly well with some sour cream and dark bread as well as watercress but the most important part is, it is your soup, take the recipe and improve it your way!

For some pickles may seem scary to put in a soup but they and olives give an extra amazing taste to the soup, plus, they are not so potent anymore.

Welcome back to my weekly recipe time, the contest is back on and so am I! Hope you have a spectacular Soļanka time and I will see you all, amazing foodies, next week!

Have an amazing day, today, tomorrow and forever,
Linda