Dill Pickle Soup

This is not a joke.  Honest.  When I first spotted the recipe in the paper last month, I did a double-take.  I'd never heard of such a thing.  But it was just weird-sounding enough that I knew I would eventually make it.  Today I noticed that I just happened to have everything in the house that the recipe called for.  And hence this post.

And it's really quite good!  It's basically a creamy vegetable soup with fresh dill and some chopped pickles in it, along with a bit of the pickle juice.  This would be wonderful with a Rueben sandwich.

I'm posting the recipe as it was published, but I would make a few adjustments to suit my personal tastes.  First, I would like it thicker so I would reduce the amount of water to 1 to 1 1/2 cups (since I made the recipe as listed this time, I simply added some instant mashed potatoes to thicken it up).  Also, I like more fresh dill so I would increase the amount to at least 2 tablespoons.  But that was easy enough for me to correct by simply adding more fresh dill as a garnish.  Also, I think I would chop my pickles a bit smaller, and maybe even "peel" them (can you peel a pickle?)  The skin on the pickles I used were a bit chewy for my preference.  And I definitely like the sour cream for a bit more depth.

You can read the story of how this came about here:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/oct/02/courters-kitchen-surprisingly-tasty-soup-perfect-s/

DILL PICKLE SOUP (6-8 servings)

1 pound potatoes, any variety, about 2 medium/large
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 large white onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 container (they're just over 1 oz) Knorr concentrated homestyle veggie stock
3 cups water
3 chopped dill pickles (I used 5 spears)
1/2 jar or to taste pickle juice (1/4 to 1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
3/4 to 1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
Sour cream

Peel potatoes, chopped large, and cook until almost done.  Set aside.

Melt butter in pot and saute onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until tender, 5-10 minutes.  Add vegetable stock and water and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add potatoes and cook for a few minutes.  Remove from heat.

Take about half of the vegetables from the soup and process almost to a puree in a food processor (or in a blender with a bit of the liquid).  Return to soup mixture.  Add pickles, fresh dill, and pickle juice and heat for about 3 minutes.  Turn heat off and add cream.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and fresh chives.

Recipe Source:  Chattanooga Times Free Press, October 2, 2013, p. E4