Polish Dill Pickle Soup

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your ingredients before cooking: peel and dice the potatoes into 1.5 cm cubes, coarsely grate the carrots and dill pickles, and measure the broth and pickle brine. Set a medium soup pot over medium heat. Having everything chopped and ready prevents the vegetables or butter from burning while cooking.

2. 2

   Melt the butter in the soup pot over medium heat until it foams gently. Add the grated carrots and sauté for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until they soften and release an orange hue into the butter. If the butter starts to brown too fast, lower the heat slightly.

3. 3

   Add the diced potatoes to the pot and pour in the warm vegetable broth. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the liquid to a gentle boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 12 minutes until the potatoes are completely tender when tested with a fork.

4. 4

   Stir the coarsely grated pickles and pickle brine directly into the simmering soup pot. Continue to cook uncovered over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Do not add sour cream yet; adding pickled ingredients now allows their distinct sour flavor to infuse the broth while keeping the pickles slightly crunchy.

5. 5

   In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream and wheat flour until completely smooth. Ladle about 150 ml of warm broth from the pot into the bowl while whisking constantly with a whisk. Tempering this mixture prevents the sour cream from curdling or splitting when added to the hot pot.

6. 6

   Reduce heat to low and pour the tempered sour cream mixture slowly into the pot, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook for 3 minutes until the soup thickens slightly and looks creamy and glossy. Remove from heat and ladle hot into soup bowls. Serve immediately while hot and fragrant.