Dill Soup – Creamy Croatian Herbal Soup Recipe

Dill soup, or juha od kopra, sits among the quiet classics of Croatian home cooking. In overviews of national dishes, it appears alongside flour soup, bean soups, and mushroom broths as part of the everyday table rather than festive banquets. In the northern regions, particularly the continental areas shaped by Austro-Hungarian influence such as Zagorje and Bjelovar-Bilogora, cooks have long relied on a simple pattern: flour and fat browned into a light roux, a ladle of broth or water, and a finishing swirl of sour cream. Dill soup follows this family of dishes, yet it stands out through its vivid herbal character and gentle tang.

A recent regional feature from Bjelovar-Bilogora County labels dill soup a “forgotten recipe from grandmother’s kitchen,” and the method described there captures the core technique. Onion softens slowly in butter, flour turns pale gold, stock is added, and finally a generous handful of finely chopped dill simmers long enough to perfume the pot. Sour cream and lemon juice go in at the end, with croutons from fried bread cubes scattered over each bowl. Many older home cooks still prepare some variation of this pattern, adjusting thickness and acidity to taste.

The flavor profile leans toward clean and aromatic rather than heavy. Dill brings a grassy, slightly sweet note with a faint hint of anise. The roux gives body without making the soup pasty, while stock supplies depth. Sour cream lifts everything with gentle acidity and a silky mouthfeel. A small amount of lemon juice brightens the dill and stops the soup from tasting flat. In some households, a potato cut into small cubes simmers in the broth for extra substance. Other cooks use wheat semolina or flour dumplings, echoing similar dill soups and sauces found in Central European kitchens.

This version keeps close to the northern Croatian template: a light roux, plenty of fresh dill, and a final enrichment with sour cream and egg yolk. Several Croatian recipes follow this structure almost exactly, combining fat, flour, dill, stock, and a cream-egg liaison, often finished with lemon. Here the flour quantity stays modest, so the soup coats the spoon without feeling stodgy. The balance of stock and cream produces a texture that sits between broth and velouté: smooth, but not so thick that it resembles a sauce.

For many families in northern Croatia, dill soup belongs to the everyday rotation of “spoon dishes” that bridge seasons. It works well on a cool spring day when dill is young and tender, yet it suits winter too, particularly when paired with warm bread and a simple salad. It appears at lunch more often than at dinner, often as a first course before a main of stewed meat or roasted poultry. The ingredient list leans on pantry staples: onion, flour, fat, stock, dairy, and herbs. Only the fresh dill demands a little planning.

From a practical point of view, this recipe offers a compact, approachable way to bring Croatian flavors into a modern kitchen. It cooks in under three-quarters of an hour, uses one pot and a small pan for croutons, and reheats gracefully. The sour cream and egg yolk mixture is tempered carefully so it stays smooth rather than curdling, a small piece of technique that gives the soup its refined finish. Each spoonful carries the scent of dill, a hint of lemon, and a comforting depth from the roux and stock—a combination that feels rooted in farmhouse cooking while still fitting a contemporary table.