Pickle Soup (Ogórkowa Zupa)

Name: Pickle Soup (Ogórkowa Zupa)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 6 to 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock; 3 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated; 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1 small celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 7 sour dill pickles (8 to 9 ounces) with 1 1/2 cups brine from the jar (see Tip); 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3 dried bay leaves; Salt and black pepper; 1/4 cup sour cream, for serving (optional); Chopped fresh dill, for serving (optional)

By Kasia Pilat

Published Jan. 29, 2023

Pickle Soup (Ogórkowa Zupa) — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(977)
Comments: Read comments

Sour flavors are common in Polish cooking, as with the subtle tang of white borscht and red borscht and with the vinegary sauerkraut found in dishes like bigos. Ogórkowa zupa fits perfectly into that tradition. There are as many variations as there are Polish cooks, but the key component — sour dill pickles — is always present. Here, the pickles are grated and gently cooked with garlic and bay leaves, then added along with their brine to a hearty blend of root vegetables in broth. In Polish households, soups usually start off most meals; the generous helping of vegetables in this version makes it a full meal. Serve with some good crusty bread, and feel free to add shredded chicken or even kielbasa if you’d like.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

6 to 8cups vegetable or chicken stock
3large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
3large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1small celery root, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1medium parsnip, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
7sour dill pickles (8 to 9 ounces) with 1½ cups brine from the jar (see Tip)
3tablespoons unsalted butter
4garlic cloves, finely chopped
3dried bay leaves
Salt and black pepper
¼cup sour cream, for serving (optional)
Chopped fresh dill, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a large pot, combine 6 cups stock with the carrots, potatoes, celery root and parsnip. The vegetables should be covered with stock, so add more as needed. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Rapidly simmer until all of the vegetables are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
Step 2
While the vegetables are cooking, coarsely grate the pickles. You should have about 1 cup densely packed grated pickles. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Stir in the garlic and bay leaves, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the grated pickles and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring once, until the pickles become softer, 8 to 12 minutes.
Step 3
Add the pickle mixture to the pot with the vegetables, along with 1 cup pickle brine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper. The soup should already be salty from the broth, pickles and their brine, so add salt carefully. Add up to ½ cup more brine if you want a more sour taste. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
Step 4
If using sour cream, temper the cream so it doesn’t curdle: In a cup, mix the sour cream with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold water, stirring well after each addition, then repeat with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the soup. Add the tempered cream to the pot. Bring to a simmer and heat through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Step 5
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Top with chopped dill and black pepper.

Tip

If looking for Polish pickles, be sure to buy ogórki kiszone (cucumbers in brine), such as those sold by the Polonaise brand. Do not buy Polish dill pickles (ogórki konserwowe). If substituting other pickles, use dill pickles that are low in vinegar.

Ratings

4 out of 5

977 user ratings

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Comments

Squeeze Your Grates Pickles!3 years ago

Wonderful soup, if you squeeze most of the juice from your grated pickles before measuring into the 1 packed cup. Use the juice - mine had almost 1/2 cup - before you use the brine from the jar! Without doing this your soup will be too sour as the brine measurements will be off b/c the pickles themselves hold so much of it inside. I have been looking for a great Polish pickle soup recipe since I left NYC. Thank you!

Ruth3 years ago

for those who are having a difficult time finding pickles fermented without vinegar, just look for Bubbies Pickles in your grocery store. They are lacto-fermented - no vinegar, as the case for most kosher pickles. Our neighborhood made pickles yearly and not one drop of vinegar was ever used - it would have been a shanda toi, toi, toi.

Barbara3 years ago

I am concerned about the brother being fairly flavorless. I wonder if the sister might have been tastier.

Megan2 weeks ago

Whatever you do don't use half-sour pickles! My soup had zero pickle taste but it was a very good parsnip potato soup....

Elizabeth3 weeks ago

You need the best garlicky kosher dills for this. I also stir a Tbsp of flour into the sour cream to thicken it.

LaurieBF3 weeks ago

My in-laws are Polish and surprisingly they prefer the taste of this soup with vinegar-based pickles. I recently made Kacia’s recipe for them using vegetable stock, cubed vinegar-based baby dill pickles, and brine. It was a hit!

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