Chef notes
Pickle soup is a big holiday tradition in my Polish family. My grandmother passed this recipe down to my mother who passed it down to me. Don't knock it till you try it!
Watch Kristen Bell make her recipe in "Baking It: Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler's Celebrity Holiday Special," airing Monday, Dec. 12 at 10 p.m. on NBC. In the episode, Maya and Amy invite their famous friends Fred Armisen, Kristen Bell, Nicole Richie and J.B. Smoove to cele-bake the holidays in a friendly competition to raise some dough for their favorite charities.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, shredded or chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/3-1/2 cup dill pickle juice, depending on your taste
- 5 Polish dill pickles, finely chopped
- 1 (28-ounce) bag cubed frozen potatoes (I like the square hash browns or Southern-style)
- frozen mixed vegetables: corn-peas-carrot combo (avoid green beans)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 5 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill (optional)
Preparation
1.Heat butter or oil in a pan, add onion, celery and carrots, and sauté until starting to soften.
2.To a crockpot, add chicken or vegetable broth, dill pickle juice, chopped dill pickles, cubed potatoes, onion-celery-carrot combo and frozen mixed vegetables. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and sugar.
3.Cook in crockpot for about 4 hours, until all vegetables are soft.
4.In a small bowl, beat milk, sour cream and flour until smooth.
5.Stir in a small amount of the hot soup, to temper.
6.Add the mixture to soup in crockpot and stir until smooth.
7.Keep soup warm but do not boil (otherwise the soup will curdle!).
8.Garnish with parsley and dill, if desired.
