Polish Dill Pickle Soup (Zupa Ogórkowa)
Zupa Ogórkowa is Poland’s dill pickle soup, and if you love snacking on a pickle, this is the soup you’ve been waiting for! Grated fermented pickles and a splash (or more) of their brine go into a pot of potatoes, carrots, and parsnip, so you get a broth that’s sour, savory, and very hard to stop eating. It’s fully plant-based and gluten free. Finish each bowl with a dollop of vegan sour cream and a fistful of fresh dill and you are set!
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot (5 to 6 quart)
- Box grater
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil 30ml / 27g
- 1 medium yellow onion diced (1 cup / 150g)
- 2 medium carrots coarsely grated (1 cup / 110g)
- 1 medium parsnip or parsley root coarsely grated (¾ cup / 85g)
- 2 garlic cloves minced (2 tsp / 6g)
- 1½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (~4 cups / 680g)
- 6 cups vegetable broth 1.4L / 1420g
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 whole allspice berries or ¼ tsp / 0.5g ground allspice, or 1 whole clove + 5 black peppercorns
- 6 medium fermented dill pickles coarsely grated (2 cups / 400g)
- 1 cup pickle brine to taste (240ml /240g)
- ¼ cup fresh dill chopped, plus more for serving (10g)
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper 0.6g
- ½ tsp fine sea salt adjusted to taste after the brine goes in (3g)
- ½ cup vegan sour cream for topping (120g)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.
- Add the grated carrot and parsnip. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until they start to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the potatoes, vegetable broth, bay leaves, and allspice. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- While the potatoes cook, grate the pickles on the large holes of a box grater. You can also finely dice them if needed. Save every drop of the liquid that collects on the board and add it to the brine.
- Once the potatoes are tender, add the grated pickles to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes so the pickles soften and flavor the broth.
- Stir in ½ cup of the pickle brine. Taste, then add more brine until it’s as sour as you like. Season with black pepper. Taste again before adding any salt, since the pickles and brine bring plenty.
- Remove the bay leaves and allspice berries. For a thicker soup, you can immersion blend some of it should you prefer. Stir in the chopped dill.
- Ladle into bowls and top each with a dollop of vegan sour cream and more fresh dill. Then, enjoy!
Notes
Substitutions
Pickles: Use brine-fermented pickles from the refrigerated section, that is key. They’re what give this soup its flavor. Shelf-stable vinegar pickles will work, but the soup comes out sharper and less complex. Use less brine (more like a 1/3 cup) if you go that route.
Parsnip / Parsley root: Parsley root is traditional but hard to find, if ever in the US. Parsnip is the closest swap, and ½ cup grated celery root also works! Additional Cooking Tips
Add the pickles after the potatoes are tender. Acid slows down how fast potatoes soften, so if they go in together, you’ll be waiting a long time for firm potatoes to cook.
Hold off on salt until the end. The amount you need depends on how salty your pickles and brine are, and that varies a lot by brand.
Need it thicker without blending? Whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch into 2 tbsp cold water and stir it into the simmering soup. This keeps it gluten free, unlike the traditional flour roux. Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It tastes even better the next day. Freezes for up to 3 months, but the potatoes can turn a little grainy once thawed.
If you stirred sour cream into the pot, don’t freeze it, and reheat it gently without boiling so it doesn’t split. Add the sour cream topping when serving, not before storing.
Pickles: Use brine-fermented pickles from the refrigerated section, that is key. They’re what give this soup its flavor. Shelf-stable vinegar pickles will work, but the soup comes out sharper and less complex. Use less brine (more like a 1/3 cup) if you go that route.
Parsnip / Parsley root: Parsley root is traditional but hard to find, if ever in the US. Parsnip is the closest swap, and ½ cup grated celery root also works! Additional Cooking Tips
Add the pickles after the potatoes are tender. Acid slows down how fast potatoes soften, so if they go in together, you’ll be waiting a long time for firm potatoes to cook.
Hold off on salt until the end. The amount you need depends on how salty your pickles and brine are, and that varies a lot by brand.
Need it thicker without blending? Whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch into 2 tbsp cold water and stir it into the simmering soup. This keeps it gluten free, unlike the traditional flour roux. Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It tastes even better the next day. Freezes for up to 3 months, but the potatoes can turn a little grainy once thawed.
If you stirred sour cream into the pot, don’t freeze it, and reheat it gently without boiling so it doesn’t split. Add the sour cream topping when serving, not before storing.