from Comfort Food
This recipe has all the right things you need to make a flavourful and rich bowl of comforting soup: aromatic vegetables, good quality dairy, stock, spices, and even bacon. What makes this soup a little out of the ordinary is beer and lots of cheese. The deep nutty flavour from the beer lends itself so well to a hearty soup and, finished with an arsenal of the best melting cheeses, each spoonful will have you enchanted under the spell of this Cheesy Brew Soup. “You can’t make everyone happy, but a cheesy beer soup just might do the trick.”
Ingredients
6 slices Bacon
1 cup (250 mL) finely diced onions
1 cup (250 mL) finely diced carrots
1 cup (250 mL) finely diced celery
2 Tbsp (30 mL) garlic, minced
1 cup (250 mL) finely diced red bell pepper
1 large Jalapeño, seeded, finely diced, a few seeds reserved
¼ cup (60 mL) Butter
¼ cup (60ml) all-purpose flour
2 cups (500 mL) chicken stock
1 cup (250 mL) Pilsner beer
1 tsp (5 mL) Worcestershire sauce
3–5 dashes Tabasco hot sauce
1 Tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
½ cup (125 mL) Pepper Jack cheese
1 cup (250 mL) aged white Cheddar cheese
1 cup (250 mL) smoked Gouda cheese
½ tsp (2.5 mL) Salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cracked black pepper
⅓ cup (80 mL) heavy cream
Garnish: chives
Method
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Place strips of bacon in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Fry bacon until crispy. Reserve bacon fat in the pot and transfer crisp bacon to a cutting board and chop. Set aside.
Add diced onions, carrots, celery, garlic, red bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, and a few jalapeño seeds to the pot with reserved bacon fat, and sauté ingredients for 5 to 7 minutes. Add butter and melt in pan. Add flour, stirring frequently to combine and brown the flour. Gradually add chicken stock, stirring frequently. When the soup has started to thicken, add Pilsner beer, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco hot sauce, and Dijon mustard, stirring to incorporate. Lower heat and add grated Pepper Jack cheese, aged white Cheddar cheese, and smoked Gouda cheese, stirring frequently until fully melted and creamy.
To build: ladle Cheesy Brew Soup into serving bowls and top with chopped, crispy bacon.
Serves 2 to 4
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: Change up the cheese to incorporate different flavours. Add more peppers and hot sauce if you like the soup to have a higher heat level. I served the soup with a basket of different breads and flavoured butters – lots of fun!
Contents and images used with permission by Whitecap Books. https://www.whitecap.ca/Detail/9781770503809
