Dill Pickle Soup

Al gave me some of the dill pickle soup he made, he thought the pickle flavor was too strong but I think it's great. Honestly, I know it sounds weird but this soup is so good!! You could lighten up on the pickle-ness by substituting broth for some of the pickle juice, but he followed the recipe and I thought it was perfect. It's like potato soup with chunks of pickle here and there, with a background flavor of pickle because of the juice - if you didn't know there's pickle juice in it I think you'd guess vinegar. Yum. I know it's an odd one, and I didn't ask Al why he decided to make it (probably just like the pickle cupcakes I made last year, it sounded just strange enough that he had to try it! Click here for the cupcake recipe - which is also delish by the way) but I'm glad he did and I hope you'll try it!

DILL PICKLE SOUP

Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Servings: 8 people

Ingredients:

5-1/2 cups chicken broth
1-3/4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups chopped carrots, smaller dice
1 cup chopped dill pickles (smaller dice ~ about 3 large whole dills)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
2 cups dill pickle juice*
1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Optional garnishes: sliced dill pickles, fresh dill and black pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, combine broth, potatoes, carrots and butter. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add pickles and continue to boil.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sour cream and water, making a paste. Vigorously whisk sour cream mixture (2 Tablespoons at a time) into soup. (This will also break up some of your potatoes which is okay. You might see some initial little balls of flour form, but between the whisking and boiling all will disappear. Don't panic.)
Add pickle juice, Old Bay, salt (*see below), pepper and cayenne. Cook 5 more minutes and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Notes:

*All pickle juice is not created equal. Some is saltier than others. Taste your soup after adding the pickle juice and final seasonings. It's possible you will not need any salt or would prefer more or less.

Nutrition:

Saturated Fat 11.5g
Cholesterol 50mg
Sodium 537.6mg
Potassium 104.3mg
Carbohydrates 28.2g
Fiber 2g
Protein 4.8g
Calcium 161mg
Iron 1.2mg