Cucumber soup: A hearty fall classic with a tangy twist

Polish cuisine is famous for its slightly sour soups. One of the best is surely cucumber soup. Our grandmothers chose pickles they made themselves. If you don't have them, you can easily buy good-quality pickles. This ingredient is key here.

This soup is one of the best dishes for the autumn weather thanks to the pickles. First of all, it contains a lot of magnesium and potassium, which support the heart and nervous system. Vitamins A, E, C, and K boost immunity and delay aging processes. Antioxidants have a cleansing effect on the body. With this soup, you also get a portion of fiber, which aids digestion and makes you feel full long after lunch. Our grandmothers knew what they were doing when they frequently cooked cucumber soup in the fall.

Chicken is often used to make the broth in recipes for cucumber soup. However, our grandmothers most often used ribs. This meat gives the soup a deeper flavor and makes it even more filling. The soup made with chicken is certainly lighter. It's best to adjust the broth according to your taste. The same principle applies to the amount of cucumbers or homemade cucumber purée—the level of tartness varies for everyone.

Ingredients:

• 14 oz pork ribs,
• 4 allspice berries,
• 2 bay leaves,
• 1 small celery root,
• 2 carrots,
• 1 parsley root,
• 3 garlic cloves,
• 1 charred onion,
• about 2 quarts of water,
• salt and pepper to taste.

Additionally:

• 3 medium potatoes,
• about 3 cups of pickles or 1 cup of cucumber purée,
• 2 tablespoons of butter,
• 1 onion,
• 3.5 oz 18% sour cream,
• 1 egg yolk,
• chopped fresh dill for serving.

Preparation method:

1. In a large pot, place pork ribs cut into smaller pieces. Add allspice berries, bay leaves, peeled celery, carrots, parsley root, garlic cloves without skin, and charred onion. Add salt and pepper, and pour in the water. Cook for about an hour.
2. Peel and dice the potatoes. Remove the ribs and vegetables from the broth and add the diced potatoes to the pot.
3. Heat the butter in a pan and add the finely diced onion. Once it turns translucent, add the cucumber purée or grated cucumbers and sauté everything.
4. Transfer the cucumbers to the broth with the potatoes. Grate the carrot, root, and celery on a coarse grater, add to the soup, and bring to a boil.
5. Add the egg yolk to the sour cream with a ladle of hot broth, mix, and pour into the pot. Thanks to the tempering, the cream won't curdle.
6. Serve the soup sprinkled with dill.