Zupa Ogórkowa (Polish Dill Pickle Soup with Chicken)

Name: Zupa Ogórkowa (Polish Dill Pickle Soup with Chicken)
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 1 lb boneless chicken thighs; 6 cups chicken broth; 1 lb potatoes, in ½-inch cubes; 2 carrots, grated; 2 celery stalks, diced; 1 onion, diced; 1¼ cups dill pickle chips, grated or finely chopped, plus ½ cup brine; 3 tbsp butter; ¾ cup sour cream; ¼ cup chopped dill; rye or sourdough bread, to serve; 2 tbsp flour; ¼ tsp ground allspice; 2 bay leaves; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp pepper

LunchPolish50 minServes 5585 kcal33 g protein

Photo: Шнапс · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

A creamy, tangy potato soup brightened with grated dill pickles, their brine and plenty of fresh dill, with tender chicken to make it a meal. Comfort in a bowl, Polish style.

Make it part of your week. MealTote sizes this recipe for everyone you cook for, adds it to a weekly meal plan and puts the ingredients on one grocery list split across your stores. Open it in MealTote

Ingredients

1 lb boneless chicken thighs
6 cups chicken broth
1 lb potatoes, in ½-inch cubes
2 carrots, grated
2 celery stalks, diced
1 onion, diced
1¼ cups dill pickle chips, grated or finely chopped, plus ½ cup brine
3 tbsp butter
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup chopped dill
rye or sourdough bread, to serve

From your pantry: 2 tbsp flour, ¼ tsp ground allspice, 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper.

Instructions

Simmer the chicken thighs in the broth with the bay leaves in a large pot until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Lift them out and shred.
Meanwhile melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the grated pickles and cook 3 minutes more.
Add the vegetables and potatoes to the broth with the allspice and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Whisk the sour cream with the flour, then whisk in a ladle of hot soup to temper it. Stir it into the pot with the shredded chicken and simmer gently 2 minutes until slightly thickened; do not boil.
Season with the pickle brine, salt and pepper to taste (add brine a little at a time), stir in the dill and serve with bread.

Tip: Use real fermented or refrigerated deli-style dill pickles if you can; they give the soup its proper sour depth. Classic versions use a pork-rib broth, which works beautifully too.