One of the things I love about the fall is comfort foods. Big pots of soup and stew, things baked in the oven for a long, long time, spreading the warmth and wonderful smells into the rest of the house. I wanted to make beer and cheese soup for supper tonight, so I got all the ingredients together and started. Partway through, I decided I wanted to make a double batch. I had enough of everything, except the stock. Then I remembered the jug of apple cider in the fridge. This soup has become the instant favorite, and will be the preferred cheese soup with my family for years to come.
You’ll notice that this soup uses beef stock rather than chicken stock, like most other cheese soup recipes do. We’ve found we prefer the depth of flavor that comes from the beef stock, and it holds up better to the stronger flavored beers we like to cook with.
Autumn Beer & Cheese Soup
8 oz maple smoked bacon, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
4 cups beef stock
4 cups apple cider
24 oz beer, pale ale preferred
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
Put bacon into cold soup pot. Cook bacon over medium high heat until crispy. Add the butter, onions, celery and salt, and cook for five minutes, or until the onions and celery are soft. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes.
Add beef stock, apple cider and beer to the pot. Stir well, scraping up all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cheese, 1 cup at a time, to the soup, stirring until melted.
Serve nice and hot. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and garlic croutons.
Makes 8 good-sized dinner servings.