This flavorful, hearty soup has a vibrant green color and consists of all the classic Scandinavian ingredients and flavors: cruciferous and root vegetables, leeks, dill and pickles. These ingredients come together along with a few other flavoring agents to create a delicious and umami-rich soup.
Chopped pickles and the briny juice get added, as well as a little nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, and miso – all of which complement each other and result in a mouthwateringly delicious soup!
I often find that Scandinavian cuisine bears a resemblance to the Eastern European table, and this soup takes inspiration from the Polish dill pickle soup Zupa Ogórkowa, which is a creamy soup with pickles and dill and a variety of vegetables. I made a few adjustments to it naturally to make it more Norwegian and also to suit what I had in the fridge 🙂
In Norway, broccoli is abundant because it grows easily in the cold climate, and I find the addition of green vegetables in the otherwise bleak winter makes the dining experience a brighter and more refreshing one.
Cruciferous vegetables are super nutritious and filling and so easy to keep on hand as they keep for quite some time.
Do take care not to overcook broccoli (does anyone have memories of the brown, limp broccoli on dinner tables growing up?!) which is why you’ll only add the broccoli during the very last few minutes the soup cooks.
I’ve also become obsessed with beans and legumes as of late, because of their versatility and heartiness, not to mention their health benefits, being packed with protein, fiber and antioxidants required for us to operate at optimal levels. As I’m writing this, I’m preparing a master class for the members in my Plant Curious Table membership on beans, and as I’m browsing and experimenting with recipes I get more and more excited about this food group!
For this soup I chose creamy butter beans, but you can use whichever beans you’d like in the soup (or omit them all together) although I find white beans to be a good fit. Chickpeas would work well too.
I hope you will try out this soup on a blustery or bleak winter day – I promise it will bring a smile to your face!
Creamy Broccoli and Dill Pickle Soup
Serves 6
For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter
4 shallots, diced
1 leek, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 celery root, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon onion powder
Pinch of red pepper flakes (omit if avoiding heat)
6 cups (1.2 liters) vegetable broth
2 large heads (about 1 1/4 lbs or 560 grams) broccoli, stems included
2 cups (400 grams) cooked (or canned) butter beans or other white bean
½ cup (75 grams) raw cashews
1 tablespoon miso
Couple of large handfuls of spinach
8 dill pickles, chopped, plus 1/3 cup brine (or more to taste)
½ cup (5 grams) fresh dill chopped
Sea salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
Dollop of vegan sour cream
Fresh dill, chopped
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Heat up the olive oil or butter in a large sauce pot, and sauté the shallots, garlic and leeks with a pinch of salt over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture is translucent and soft.
Add in the bay leaves, Dijon mustard and nutritional yeast and stir to combine, before adding in the potatoes, parsnip and celeriac with a pinch of salt.
Sprinkle in the onion powder and pinch of red pepper flakes and stir to incorporate. Pour in the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the root vegetables are tender.
Add in the broccoli, butter beans and chopped pickles. Stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes or so until the broccoli is tender.
To a high-speed blender, add in the spinach with the drained cashews, and ladle in about ⅓ of the soup and puré until smooth. Transfer the puréed mixture back to the soup pot and add in the dill pickle brine to taste and chopped dill.
Heat through and season with salt and pepper before serving with an optional dollop of sour cream and additional chopped fresh dill. If you have a crusty loaf of whole grain Norwegian bread to serve with it – even better!
Note: I like to use shallots in this dish because I want the flavor of the broccoli and root vegetables to shine and I find sometimes that regular onions can take over with their sharper flavor profile.
Creamy Broccoli Dill Pickle Soup
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter
- 4 shallots diced
- 1 leek thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 parsnip peeled and diced
- 1 celery root peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Pinch of red pepper flakes omit if avoiding heat
- 6 cups (1.2 liters) vegetable broth
- 2 large heads broccoli stems included (include gram amount)
- 2 cups (400 grams) cooked (or canned) butter beans or other white bean
- ½ cup (75 grams) raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon miso
- Couple of large handfuls of spinach
- 8 dill pickles chopped, plus 1/3 cup brine (or more to taste)
- ½ cup 5 grams fresh dill chopped
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
- Dollop of vegan sour cream
- Fresh dill chopped
- Red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil or butter in a large sauce pot, and sauté the shallots, garlic and leeks with a pinch of salt over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture is translucent and soft. Add in the bay leaves, Dijon mustard and nutritional yeast and stir to combine, before adding in the potatoes, parsnip and celeriac with a pinch of salt. Sprinkle in the onion powder and pinch of red pepper flakes and stir to incorporate. Pour in the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the root vegetables are tender.
- Add in the broccoli, butter beans and chopped pickles. Stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes or so until the broccoli is tender.
- To a high-speed blender, add in the spinach with the drained cashews, and ladle in about ⅓ of the soup and puré until smooth. Transfer the puréed mixture back to the soup pot and add in the dill pickle brine to taste and chopped dill. Heat through and season with salt and pepper before serving with an optional dollop of sour cream and additional chopped fresh dill. If you have a crusty loaf of whole grain Norwegian bread to serve with it – even better!
How much broccoli in grams? Recipe does not state (it says in () “include gram amount.” ) A “bunch” is not a very useful measure since this veg is usually sold as crowns, not actual bunches.
BTW, your Norwegian seed bread is, hands down, the best bread I hve ever tasted!!!!
Hi Ruth – thanks for your question. It’s difficult to estimate in grams as every bunch is different (And I like to use the stems too not just the crowns – plus it’s cheaper!). It’s not that important to be super precise (depends on how much you like broccoli:) but I’d say aim for about 560 grams of broccoli (I’ve updated the recipe now). I’m so happy you like my bread recipe and I hope you’ll love this soup too! Happy cooking! Sunny