Recipe: Polish Pickle and Potato Soup

Serves 6 to 8.

Note: Because she works in large batches (requiring her meticulously prepared vegetable stock) that do not translate outside her commercial kitchen, Birdsong Soups owner Pam Knutson prefers to share this favorite easy-to-prepare recipe from her home kitchen. "My mother was Polish and Czech and although this wasn't her recipe, it might explain why I love it, because it's in my DNA," she said. Serve with chunks of potatoes, carrots and pickles, or purée the soup in a blender in small batches. Serve hot or cold.

• 2 tbsp. butter

• Canola oil

• 2 onions, diced

• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 4 c. vegetable or chicken stock

• 4 large red or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into chunks

• 3 c. chopped dill pickles, plus up to 2/3 c. reserved pickle juice, divided

• 1 c. sour cream

• 2 tbsp. flour

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Freshly chopped dill, to taste

Directions

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat, melt butter and add a splash of canola oil. Add onions and cook until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes, adding a bit of water if necessary to keep onions from sticking to the pan. Add carrots and garlic and cook until carrots are bright in color, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add stock and potatoes. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add pickles and cook an additional 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream and flour. Add a few tablespoons of broth from the soup to the sour cream mixture and whisk. Add sour cream mixture into soup and stir until soup comes back to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and pickle juice to taste. Serve hot or cold, garnished with dill.