Last summer, we had a lovely dinner at Fishers in the City, a very nice fish restaurant in Edinburgh. I can’t remember what I had but Darina’s starter was much more memorable; gherkin soup. I had never heard of such soup before and apart from few recipes online, it’s not well know. Perhaps that’s because gherkins aren’t as popular in much of English speaking world as they are in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
This recipe is a sort of a combination of the few I could find, taking the best bits and keeping it very simple. Unlike many vegetarian soups I think the gherkins bring a bit more body and distinct flavour.
We had this as the soup course on our Christmas meal this year. It’s great as it’s easy to make, I’ll make mine in the morning and heat it up for serving.
Polish Gherkin Soup with Dill
Ingredients
- 120 g diced onions
- 150 g diced potatoes
- 150 g diced carrots
- 150 g gherkin, sliced into strips
- 5 tbsp cream
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
- gherkin brine
- 1/2 tbsp dill
- Flour
- Butter
- Salt
- Pepper
Method
- Heat butter in a small sauce pan and lightly fry the onions in it for 3 minutes or until soft. Be careful not to brown them
- Add potatoes and carrots, and generously cover with water
- Bring to boil and let it simmer till carrots are almost cooked
- In a small bowl, dust the sliced gherkins with flour so they’re covered and then add to the pan
- Add cream, stock and seasoning to taste. Omit dill if gherkins are preserved with it. You can also use a splash of gherkin brine to enhance the flavour
- You can also add a little bit of finely chopped red chillies to add warmth
- Let it simmer for another 10 minutes
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Number of servings (yield): 4
Sounds delicious, I must have a go!