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Kidney and Pickle Soup

A hearty soup made with kidneys, pickles, vegetables, and rice.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Kidney and Pickle Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the kidneys and vegetables

  1. To prepare the kidneys, remove their fat and membrane, cut in half, cover with cold water, and let soak for 6 hours, changing the water every 2 hours.

  2. Discard the last water. While the kidneys are soaking, cut the carrot, parsley, celery root, and onion into julienne strips.

Make the soup

  1. In a 4-quart pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil.

  2. Add the kidneys (or the giblets, if you are using them), julienned vegetables, 1 teaspoon salt, and the peppercorns and bay leaves, and bring to a boil again.

  3. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.

  4. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut into 1‑inch cubes.

  5. Strain the stock, discarding the vegetables.

  6. Cut the kidneys into 1/4‑inch slices and return to the stock, adding the potatoes and rice.

  7. Cook slowly, partially covered, for 20 minutes, then add the pickles and simmer 5 minutes more.

  8. Turn off the heat, cover completely, and allow the flavors to mingle for 5 minutes.

Finish and serve

  1. Blend the sour cream with 1 cup of soup and stir it back into the pot, then taste for seasoning.

  2. Serve in a warmed tureen, sprinkled with tarragon.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

968Calories
85 gProtein
20 gFat
108 gCarbs

Counts 13 of 14 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Tarragon1 tsp dried (0.5g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Vealnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Kidneys
Provide the main meaty texture and rich, distinctive flavor of the soup.
Potatoes
Soften into cubes that thicken the broth and give it body.
Long-grain rice
Absorbs liquid and releases starch, thickening the soup slightly.
Sour pickles
Add sharp acidity that balances the rich broth and kidneys.
Sour cream
Adds creamy richness and a tangy, mellow finish to the soup.

The step that matters

Soaking the kidneys. Soaking for several hours with frequent water changes draws out blood and strong urinary odors, so the kidneys taste clean rather than bitter or gamey.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, carrot, parsley, celery, potato, rice, cream):

  1. Leekfits better
  2. Parsnipfits better
  3. Turnipfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, carrot, parsley, celery, potato, rice, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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