Wednesday, 11 January 2012

• Recipe: Beer Cheese Soup

  

  I know I've said that I wanted to make more Czech and Slovak dishes, but... I was really hungry for this!

  I volunteered at a Group Workcamp in Racine, Wisconsin, several years ago. While there, I ordered this soup at a restaurant and loved it. Beer is good, cheese is good, soup is good - all three in one item makes for a fabulous, hearty, warm dish!

  (Photo courtesy of Google Images because I wasn't able to photograph my bowl.)

  Ingredients:
  - 4T butter
  - 1 small onion, chopped
  - 1 clove of garlic, minced
  - 1t Worcestershire sauce
  - 1 can beer (I used Miller High Life, which is what my father drinks)
  - 3 to 4 cups chicken broth or stock
  - 3T flour
  - 2 cups light cream or milk
  - 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated or shredded

   

  Directions:

  1. Melt 1T of the butter in a soup pot on medium-low heat. Add onions and garlic, sprinkle with salt, and saute the onions to soft.

  2. Add the beer and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook for a few minutes. (The alcohol will evaporate.)

  3. Add broth. Bring to a boil, reduce, and simmer while you make the cheese sauce.

  4. Cheese sauce:

  4a. Melt the remaining 3T of butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir in flour a bit at a time, stirring to keep it smooth. Cook the butter-flour mixture for a few minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Remove from heat, and add cream/milk slowly. Stir to keep it smooth and lump-free. 

  4b. Return the cream sauce to the heat, and add the cheese a bit at a time, stirring to mix it in as it melts.

  5. Slowly add the cheese sauce to the soup. Keep stirring to make sure it doesn't clump.

   

  I like to sprinkle extra cheddar cheese on top, as well as crispy bacon, chives, croutons, and spring onion.

  For those who do not allow anything alcoholic in their diets for whatever reasons, apparently non-alcoholic beer exists, but I know nothing about it. 

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