Loaded Dill Pickle Soup

This one is for all the pickle lovers! It's got some veggies, it's creamy, filling & packed full of flavour! The combination of dill pickles & bacon is NEXT LEVEL!

Last year my Dill Pickle Salad recipe went VIRAL. It was my first viral recipe & I was so stoked to see that there were other die-hard pickle lovers out there, just like me!

This dill pickle soup recipe is dedicated to all of my pickle loving fans! You are MY PEOPLE!

Loaded Dill Pickle Soup

Makes 2 litres

What you'll need:

1/2 lb. bacon, diced

2 medium onions, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets

3 medium russet potatoes, peeled & cut into 1 inch cubes

2 1/2-3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups dill pickle brine (from the pickle jar)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 large dill pickles, diced

Black pepper, to taste (you likely won't need any salt because the pickle bring is salty enough)

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Sliced green onion, for topping

Steps:

Crisp 1/2 lb. of diced bacon in a large pot over medium heat. Once the bacon is crispy, transfer the bacon bits to a bowl lined with paper towel & set aside. Drain the bacon grease from the pot then add 2 diced onions to the pot, cook until translucent. Add in 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the florets of 1 small cauliflower to the pot, along with 3 medium diced russet potatoes. Add 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock and 1 1/2 cups of pickle brine to the pot. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes or until potatoes and cauliflower are tender.

Transfer a few ladle-fulls of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. (Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender to blend the soup up a bit. If using an immersion blender don't blend the soup completely smooth, you still want a lot of chunks.) Once you've blended the ladle-fulls, add the contents of the blender back into the pot. At this point, if you find the soup too thick you can add in the remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock, keeping in mind that once you add the cream it will get thicker. Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream, 3 chopped large dill pickles, crispy bacon bits and black pepper, to taste (you likely won't need salt as the pickle brine is very salty), bring back to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes stirring often. Remove pot from heat, stir in 1/4 fresh chopped dill.

Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with more chopped dill & green onion, if desired.

Soups up, my friends!