(Recipe can be found on the site Closet Cooking here.)
Step by Step Instructions:
Ale and Cheddar Soup will warm you to the core, and here’s what you’ll need: 1/2 pound of Bacon (6-7 slices), Minced Garlic, Salt & Pepper, 2 tablespoons of Butter, 2 cups of Chicken Stock (chicken broth or vegetable broth or stock works too), 2 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese (I love sharp cheddar so I went with that), 1 Onion, 2 Jalapenos, Cayenne Pepper, Thyme (fresh or dried works), Worcestershire Sauce, 2 stalks of Celery, Dijon Mustard, Flour, Heavy Cream, and 1 bottle of your favorite ale (Octoberfest seemed appropriate, plus I had some on hand).
First things first, you need to get the bacon cooking. You’ll need about 1/2 a pound of bacon (6-7 slices). I start mine in a cold pan and turn the heat to medium low. I used a larger pan, because the soup will get cooked in it.
While the bacon cooks it’s time to prep the veggies. I started by chopping up 2 celery stalks.
Then chop up one onion. As you’ll see, I’m sticking with chopping up my onion on some paper towels. It really is great to keep the onion from sliding around on the cutting board and risking cutting yourself.
Once the bacon is cooked and crispy, let it drain on a plate lined with paper towels. You’ll also want to leave about 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pan.
Then I chopped up 2 jalapenos, discarding the seeds and ribs of the peppers. I finely diced them…
…and added the jalapenos, onion, and celery to the warm pan and cooked them in the bacon drippings. Cook the veggies until they are tender, which takes about 10 minutes.
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, or I added dried thyme since I had some on hand and couldn’t get my hands on fresh thyme at the store.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan…
…and let the butter melt and get kind of foamy.
Next you’ll throw in 1/4 cup of flour to help thicken the soup.
Mix up the flour and cook it for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture starts to get a bit golden in color.
Then the 12 ounce bottle of ale, and 2 cups chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it a bit and get any of the bacon-y goodness left on the bottom mixed in.
Speaking of bacon, chop up the cooked bacon and add it to the soup. Next time I think I’ll reserve a little of it for topping the soup.
Then cook the soup for about 10 minutes.
Turn the heat to low (or remove the pan from the heat if you need to) so that it isn’t boiling anymore. Then add 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese.
Once the cheese melts, taste the soup and add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Then serve up the soup, and enjoy! It certainly hit the spot for me. Happy cooking!
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 pound bacon (preferably smoked or double smoked), cut into 1 inch slices (omit and replace with 2 tablespoons of oil or butter for vegetarian)
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2+ jalapeno peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour (rice flour for gluten free)
1 (~12 ounce) bottle/can ale (gluten free for gluten free)
2 cups chicken broth or chicken stock or vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
cayenne to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation Instructions:
1. Cook the bacon in a pan over medium heat and set aside on paper towels to drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the grease in the pan.
2. Add the onion, celery and jalapeno and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the butter and let it melt and get all bubbly then sprinkle on the flour and let it cook until it starts to turn golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the ale and broth and de-glaze the pan before adding the bacon and then let cook for 10 minutes.
Add the cream, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and cheese and cook until the cheese has melted without bringing it back to a boil.
6. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.
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