While it hasn’t been an especially cold winter, so far, it’s often been dank and grey. In my kitchen, the best remedy for the winter blahs is a pot of soup. Recently I experimented with a Polish dill pickle soup – and found a new family favorite. What a winner!
I first tasted this soup at a local restaurant, and loved it. When I found a Polish grocery store, I was delighted that they sell pickle soup in quarts along with uncounted varieties of kielbasa and terrific rye bread.
Everyone in the house likes it so much that one quart (at a time) is simply not enough, and so I hit the kitchen. Here’s the result: a big batch – easily 8 to 10 full servings. If you’d like something a bit smaller, cut everything in half, and you’ll still have a lovely pot of soup. Serve it with grilled cheese, or simply some good rye bread.
about the soup
Dill pickle soup is built in stages. First, you’ll make sure your stock is well flavored and enriched with vegetables. Then you’ll cook potatoes in the strained stock, add back some of the veggies and a bunch of chopped dill pickles. And finally you’ll thicken the soup a bit with a sour cream/flour mixture to make it creamy and delicious.
preparation: stock, pickles, thickener
If you’re starting with store-bought stock, add some chicken bones – perhaps the carcass of a rotisserie chicken – to the pot. If you have well-flavored homemade stock, don’t worry about adding any bones, just continue with veggies.
Put stock, (bones if using), leek, carrots, parsnip, celery, onion, and allspice in a large pot. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer 30-40 minutes.
While the potatoes cook, chop the dill pickles finely. In a 4-cup measuring cup or similar sized bowl, whisk the sour cream and flour together until completely smooth. Set both of these aside for now.
cook potatoes in the stock
Strain the stock, reserving the carrots and parsnip. Discard the other vegetables (and bones if you used any) and return the stock to the pot. Add the potatoes and garlic, and cook 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.
While the potatoes are cooking, grate the reserved carrots and parsnip, or chop them very finely. When the potatoes are fork-tender, return the grated carrots and parsnip to the pot, and then add the chopped dill pickles, dried dill weed, and pickle juice. Continue simmering the soup; keep it just under a boil.
thicken the soup
Temper the flour/sour cream mixture: slowly add 1 cup of the hot broth from the pot to the bowl of flour/sour cream, stirring constantly. Whisk this until it’s smooth and creamy, adding stock as needed. When it’s completely smooth, add all this back to the pot, and stir until well combined. Keep the soup at a simmer, and do not let it boil. Simmer 5-10 more minutes to thicken the soup a bit.
adjust flavors and serve
Taste the soup, and adjust seasonings. Dill pickle soup may need more salt or none at all, depending on the saltiness of the pickles you used. A bit of pepper, hot paprika, or even cayenne, may bring out the flavors for you.
Dill Pickle Soup
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken stock (2 L) (preferably homemade)
- 1 leek, trimmed & rinsed
- 2 carrots, trimmed & peeled
- 1 parsnip, trimmed & peeled
- 1 stalk celery, trimmed
- 1 medium onion, trimmed, outer layer removed
- 2 whole allspice berries
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled & chopped (1kg)
- 1½ cups finely diced dill pickles
- 1 tbsp dried dill weed
- 1 cup dill pickle juice (240 ml)
- ½ cup flour (60g)
- ½ cup sour cream (240ml)
Instructions
- If you’re starting with store-bought stock, add some chicken bones – perhaps the carcass of a rotisserie chicken – to the pot. If you have well-flavored homemade stock, don’t worry about adding any bones, just continue with veggies.
- Put stock, (bones if using), leek, carrots, parsnip, celery, onion, and allspice in a large pot. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer 30-40 minutes.
- While the potatoes cook, chop the dill pickles finely. In a 4-cup measuring cup or similar sized bowl, whisk the sour cream and flour together until completely smooth. Set both of these aside for now.
- Strain the stock, reserving the carrots and parsnip. Discard the other vegetables (and bones if you used any) and return the stock to the pot. Add the potatoes and garlic, and cook 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.
- While the potatoes are cooking, grate the reserved carrots and parsnip, or chop them very finely. When the potatoes are fork-tender, return the grated carrots and parsnip to the pot, and then add the chopped dill pickles, dried dill weed, and pickle juice. Continue simmering the soup; keep it just under a boil.
- Temper the flour/sour cream mixture: slowly add 1 cup of the hot broth from the pot to the bowl of flour/sour cream, stirring constantly. Whisk this until it’s smooth and creamy, adding stock as needed. When it’s completely smooth, add all this back to the pot, and stir until well combined. Keep the soup at a simmer, and do not let it boil. Simmer 5-10 more minutes to thicken the soup a bit.
- Taste the soup, and adjust seasonings. Dill pickle soup may need more salt or none at all, depending on the saltiness of the pickles you used. A bit of pepper, hot paprika, or even cayenne, may bring out the flavors for you.