Polish Dill Pickle Soup

Yes, I said soup. With milk in it, even. I admit to having a prejudice against milk with pickles - I even know from whence it came; see L. M. Montgomery's The Story Girl - but in fact they work very well together, at least in this soup. These are, do I have to say, Dill Pickles by the Jar, but good purchased non-pasteurized (refrigerated) dill pickles will do in a pinch.

If you don't have any parsnips and don't want to buy a bag just to get one little one, you can lean more heavily on the carrot instead. (But go for it - then you'll have parsnips and parsnips are great.)

If you add the pickles and brine sooner, the soup will be more mellow. If you add them right towards the end, it will be much pickle-ier. It's your choice. You could also be indecisive and add some earlier and some later to steer a very pleasant middle course.

4 servings
30 minutes prep time

3 cups (500 grams; 1 pound) diced potatoes
1 medium carrot
1 small parsnip
3 cups unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup finely diced dill pickles
1/3 cup dill pickle brine
1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch
2/3 cup milk or sour cream
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash, trim, and dice the potatoes. Peel and grate or finely dice the carrot and parsnip. Put them in a heavy-bottomed soup pot with the stock and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and boil for 15 minutes until the potatoes are very tender.

Meanwhile, peel and mince the garlic. Melt the butter in your smallest pan and cook the garlic gently in it until just showing signs of turning colour. Transfer butter and garlic to the soup pot at once.

When the potatoes are tender (or sooner; see the note above) add the dill pickles to the soup. Measure the brine and mix in the starch. Mix well into the soup.

Just before serving, stir in the milk or sour cream (I used a mixture of both and recommend it) and season generously with coarsely ground black pepper. The soup should be served steaming hot but do not let it simmer (or boil) or it will curdle. 





Last year at this time I made Chicken in Goat Cheese, Mushroom, & Dried Tomato Sauce.

Posted in: Ontario Food