Ogorki Kiszone Polish Pickles Food

OGóRKI KISZONE: POLISH DILL PICKLES IN BRINE

Steps:

• Boil water with salt, leave aside to cool completely.
• Place cucumbers, leaves, horseradish root, garlic and honey into a large jar.
• Pour in the water.
• Cover with a lid. The author recommends using a fermentation lid (such as this one), but I used a regular lid and it worked just fine.
• Set aside and... wait.
• You can start tasting them after 3 days or so. But for a proper dill pickle in brine, you'll need to wait longer.
• For the first 2 weeks, cucumbers should be stored at room temperature, then transferred to a cool place to slow down the fermentation process. Ideally, pickles should be stored at a temperature of about 50°F (10°C), in a cool pantry or a basement.

POLISH DILL PICKLES (OGóRKI KISZONE)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place mustard seeds , 1 clove garlic, and dill in a sterilized 1-quart jar. Tightly pack pickling cucumbers in jar, positioning the last one horizontally to help keep cucumbers below brine. Top with remaining garlic clove.
• Dissolve salt in bottled water.
• Fill jar with saltwater to within 1/4 inch from the top. Cover jar loosely with a sterilized cap and keep in a cool, dark place (55 F to 60 F) like the basement. The jars must not be closed too tightly because as fermentation takes place, the accumulated carbon dioxide must be able to escape. Some oozing of brine is unavoidable, so place jar on a plate or tray and store in a place where seepage won't be a problem.
• Fermentation typically takes five to six weeks. When fermentation is complete, tighten lids. If lids are tightened too early, trapped carbon dioxide will make pickles mushy; if lids are not tightened after fermentation, spoilage can occur.
• Once opened, place pickles in refrigerator, where they will last four to six months. Source: Adapted from a recipe by Marcin Filutowicz, professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

PICKLE SOUP (OGóRKOWA ZUPA)

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine 6 cups stock with the carrots, celery root, parsnip and potatoes. The vegetables should be covered with stock, so add more as needed. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Rapidly simmer until all the vegetables are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
• While the vegetables are cooking, coarsely grate the pickles. You should have approximately 1 cup densely packed grated pickles. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Stir in the garlic and bay leaves and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the grated pickles and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring once, until the pickles become softer, 8 to 12 minutes.
• Add the pickle mixture to the pot with the vegetables, along with 1 cup of the pickle brine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper. The soup should already be salty from the broth, pickles and their brine, so add salt carefully. Add up to 1/2 cup more brine if you want a more sour taste. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
• If using sour cream, temper the cream so it doesn't curdle: In a cup, mix the sour cream with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold water, stirring well after each addition, then repeat with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the soup. Add the tempered cream to the pot. Bring to a simmer and heat through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Top with chopped dill and black pepper.