Ogorkowa (Polish Cucumber Soup)

Again this is another one of my favourites. It’s a traditional Polish soup made from pickles. Now I promise it’s not what you think. Ogorkowa is not like eating a big bowl of boiled pickle. The tanginess of the pickles combined with cream and fresh dill gives it a very refreshing flavour. In fact this would probably be more of a spring or summer soup, rather than a winter soup. But in any case, I urge you to try the Polish cucumber soup and write me a line to let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

6 cups of chicken broth OR 6 cups of water and 2 chicken stock cubes

2 Carrots (Peeled and finely diced)

1 parsnip (peeled and trimmed)

2 stalks of celery (trimmed)

½ a leek (cut lengthways)

A handful of fresh parsley

2 potatoes (peeled and cubed)

8 large pickled cucumbers (pickled in brine as opposed to vinegar)

1 tbsp plain flour

100ml of cream

Chopped dill to garnish

Method:

Place all veggies into a large stock pot and cover with broth or water and stock cubes and place over a high heat. Once boiling lower the heat and allow to cook for around 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked.

Meanwhile, grate or process (but not too finely) the pickles, reserving the juice and set aside.

In a small jug whisk or using a hand held blender, blend the flour and cream with a small amount of water until the flour is well combined into the mixture. Also set this aside.

Once the potatoes have cooked, add the grated pickles (including the juice) to the soup, and then add the flour, cream mixture and allow this to cook for a further 5 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the flavours to your liking. And there it is. Ladle your soup into your serving bowl and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh dill.