What makes this Polish potato soup extraordinary is the addition of chopped dill pickle, pickle juice, and plenty of fresh dill. These ingredients, plus tangy sour cream, create a delicious, complex, comforting potato soup. I find it a comforting soup to eat, but the true comfort, the true relaxation comes from the process of making the soup.
Ingredients
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- ounces Polish kielbasa sausage, quartered and sliced 1/4-inch thick: 4 piece
- yellow onion: 1 piece (chopped)
- ribs celery: 2 piece (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- carrots: 2 piece (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes: 2 piece (peeled)
- chicken broth: 4 cups
- 1/2 cups water: 1 piece (or as needed)
- salt: 1 tsp (to taste)
- black pepper: 0.25 tsp (to taste, freshly ground)
- pinch cayenne pepper: 1 piece (to taste)
- dill pickle: 0.75 cup (diced)
- pickle juice: 0.25 cup
- fresh dill: 0.5 cup (divided, chopped)
- sour cream: 0.33333 cup
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add kielbasa. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes to flavor the oil. Add onions, celery, and carrots, and cook, stirring, until onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
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Meanwhile, quarter potatoes and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Transfer about 1/3 of the potatoes into cold water, and reserve in the refrigerator until needed. Stir remaining sliced potatoes into the vegetables.
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Add broth, water, salt, pepper, cayenne, pickles, pickle juice, and half the fresh chopped dill. Raise the heat to high, and wait for soup to start to simmer. While soup is coming up to temperature, stir in sour cream.
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Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Use a potato masher to break up potatoes.
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Drain and add the reserved sliced potatoes, and let soup simmer until potatoes are very soft and tender, about 40 to 45 minutes more. During the last 30 minutes, be careful to stir gently to maintain whole pieces of potato.
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Taste for seasoning and adjust. Stir in remaining dill, and serve immediately, garnished with more sour cream and dill. John Mitzewich
