Creamy Dill Pickle Soup
The pickle flavour is subtle and doesn't overpower the soup. The cayenne adds just enough kick to make this a great soup to warm up with.
The weather is getting cooler. This always marks one of my absolute favourite food seasons. Soups & Chilis. I'll admit, I had my doubts about this one, but Creamy Dill Pickle soup? This rocks, and was relatively easy to make. The pickle flavour is subtle and doesn't overpower the soup. The cayenne adds just enough kick to make this a great soup to warm up with.
What You Need
5 cups chicken broth
2 pounds Yukon Gold (or any yellow flesh) potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, fine chopped
1/2 sweet onion, fine chopped
2 cups fine chopped carrots
1 cup fine chopped sour garlic dill pickles (smaller dice ~ about 3 large whole dills)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1.5 cups sour cream
1/4 cup water
~2 cups dill pickle juice*
1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (or all purpose season salt)
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Garnish (optional)
Sliced dill pickles
Fresh dill
Black pepper
Let's Do This!
Stop! Pay attention to the order of veggies below here. Don't add the pickles or brine until called for. They will simmer out and flatten your flavour. In a large pot, combine carrots, onion, garlic and butter. Saute until fragrant. Add in your broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
Stir in the chopped pickles now and continue to simmer.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sour cream and water, making a paste. Whisk as much as you can. Keep going until it's like the consistency of Fluffernutter. If you're under 25, ask an elder what the fuck Fluffernutter is.
After the potatoes are fall apart soft, whisk in the sour cream mixture (2 Tablespoons at a time, vigorous whisk) into soup. Don't use a hand mixer. You want the little potato “chunkies” in this soup.
(This will also break up the potatoes. You might see some initial little balls of flour form, but between your diligent, laborious whisking and then simmering, all will disappear.) Alternatively, you could make a roux from your flour like me.
Once you get it mostly smoothed out, add your pickle brine (*see below), Old Bay, salt pepper and cayenne. Simmer 5-10 more minutes and remove from heat. Serve immediately.
*All pickle juice is not created equal. Some are saltier than others. Taste your soup after adding the pickle juice and final seasonings. It's possible you will not need any salt or would prefer more or less. If it's too tangy, whisk in, or garnish with some more sour cream.