Polish Zupa Ogórkowa (Pickled Cucumber Soup)
Pickled cucumber soup is one of my favorites and also one of the most popular soups in Poland. In my home, it has never been creamed, but if you want, you can of course add cream to it. The most inportant thing: These are polish pickles made like sauerkraut, kimchi, or sourdough starter. They are made without winegar or sugar! You can check out how these are made on my blog: Polish Pickled Cucumbers.
Recipe modifications:
- Vegetables: For convenience, you can use frozen vegetables julienne. If you want to use fresh vegetables, you need about 3 carrots, 1 parsley root, ¼ celeriac, 1 leek.
- Meat: You don’t have to use meat – you can prepare vegetable broth. However, if you want to prepare meat stock, it is best to use meat with bones. Use about 800 g -1 000 g of meat.
- Cucumbers: If you buy cucumbers at the market and hear the question “old or young”, answer old or for soup, the seller will know which cucumbers are better for soup. Older cucumbers, i.e. those that have been pickled longer, have a more intense, more sour taste. You can also feel free to use cucumbers from the supermarket. For a less sour soup, about 500 g of cucumbers will be enough.
- Water: Remember to pour cold water over the meat and vegetables! The longer and slower the broth cooks, the more flavor it will have.
- Dill: you can use fresh or dried dill.
What to add to cucumber soup to make it sour?
Pickled cucumbers and the juice from pickled cucumbers add acid to cucumber soup. Never pour out the water from the cucumbers! Pour it into the pot together with the cucumbers. If your soup is still not sour, it is possible that you have added too much water to it. If you can, add more cucumbers and/or juice. You can also add some sour cream to the soup. The cream will not only whiten but also slightly acidify the soup.
What do you season cucumber soup with?
To make cucumber soup, just add pepper, salt and dill. Good pickled cucumbers have so much flavour that they don’t need any additional spices.
When to add potatoes to cucumber soup?
Put the potatoes in the finished broth, but before adding the cucumbers, because the acid from the cucumbers can significantly prolong or even prevent the potatoes from cooking. I recommend cooking the potatoes directly in the broth and not separately, because the starch from the potatoes will also slightly thicken the soup.
What meat is used to cook cucumber soup?
You can cook cucumber soup with any meat, preferably with a bone. The flavour of pickled cucumbers is so intense that it’s a shame to add more expensive meat such as duck to the broth, because the flavour of the cucumbers can overshadow its flavour anyway. Cucumber soup is most often cooked with chicken or turkey. You can also prepare cucumber soup with chicken soup from the previous day. Just fish out the vegetables from the broth and chop them up, then add the potatoes to the hot broth and continue according to the recipe.
What should I fry cucumbers for cucumber soup with and why?
First, fry the onion and garlic in olive oil, then add the cucumbers and butter. Fry in a pan and only then add them to the soup. Fried cucumbers are more fragile and the soup with butter has more flavor. If you don’t want to fry the cucumbers, you can skip this step.
Cucumber soup is gluten-free.
The proportions given below make about 10 portions of cucumber soup weighing about 300 g. Read the step-by-step recipe on how to prepare pickled cucumber soup and watch the video below the recipe.
Also subscribe to the SaltedPasta channel on YouTube and sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss any recipes!
Polish Pickled Cucumber Soup
Dill Pickle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 450 g vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celeriac, leek) fresh or frozen
- 800 g bone-in meat / broth portion (e.g. turkey)
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 400 g potatoes (3 medium potatoes)
- 700 g pickled cucumbers (polish pickles – no vinegar!)
- ½ l pickle water
- 1 l cold water
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 bay leaves
- 7 grains allspice
- pepper
- salt
- 1 bunch dill
Instructions
- If you are using fresh vegetables, peel and cut them into strips or cubes. Put the meat and cut vegetables in a pot. Add allspice and bay leaves. Pour in the water and simmer covered. The longer and slower the broth cooks, the better.450 g vegetables, 800 g bone-in meat / broth portion, 1 l cold water, 4 bay leaves, 7 grains allspice
- Peel and dice the potatoes. Put the potatoes in the prepared broth, add salt and cook until the potatoes are soft.400 g potatoes, salt
- Dice the onion. Crush the garlic with a knife but do not peel it. Grate the cucumbers.1 onion, 4 cloves garlic, 700 g pickled cucumbers
- In a pan, fry the onion and garlic. When the onion is translucent, add the cucumbers and butter. Fry for 4-5 minutes. Add to the broth. Also pour in the water from the pickles.½ l pickle water, olive oil, 1 tbsp butter
- Add chopped dill and pepper to the soup. Cook for a few minutes. You can add some sour cream to the soup. Enjoy!pepper, 1 bunch dill
Video
Nutrition
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
