Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Cheesy Vegetable Beer Soup



Nothing like a good ol cuppa soup to warm your buns for these chilly nights, huh?  This vegetable soup went creamy, as part of my soft foods diet after getting my wisdom teeth ripped out a couple of weeks ago.  I had a hankering for broccoli cheese soup, but didn't quite have enough broccoli.  I decided to clean out the veggie drawer and whip this up.


The veggies are cooked in a normal fashion to make soup.  But the magic happens when beer and cheese combine.  I used a hoppy ale, but use whatever you'd like.  Not into beer?  Then the soup will not be what it is supposed to be. . .BEER cheese soup.  Go find another recipe or replace with stock & milk.


Pair it up with homemade bread, and you'll be a TRUE hippie.



Cheesy Vegetable Beer Soup

  • 1 1/2 Tbs Butter
  • 2 Cups Broccoli florets and stems, chopped
  • 1 large zucchini, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped
  • 1 1/2 lbs mixed sweet and white baby potatoes
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1 tsp ea: dried thyme & salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 1/2 Tbs Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Vegetable Flavor
  • 2 C baby spinach
  •  2 Tbs Butter
  • 1/4 C flour (white or whole wheat is fine)
  • 1 Beer
  • 1-2 Tbs mustard, to your liking
  • 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mixture of what I had on hand.  Important thing is to include plenty of sharp cheese)
  • 1/3 C Heavy cream (*optional)
  1. Saute vegetables (except spinach) in 1 1/2 Tbs butter for 5-10 minutes, or until slightly softened.  Add water, seasoning, & bouillon, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender.  Add the spinach and cover the pot.  Take off the heat and allow to cool while you prepare the cheese sauce.
  2. In a separate pot, melt 2 Tbs butter.  Stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the mustard, then slowly add the beer, whisking it in.  Allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes over medium heat, until thick and bubbly.  Take off the heat, and fold in the cheese and stir until smooth.  Set aside.
  3. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.  You can also do this in a blender in batches, but I think that just leaves more dishes to do and is a pain in the ass.  Go get a fricken immersion blender!  You'll get this cute little chopper cup that is PERFECT for garlic and herbs with it, too!
  4. Using a whisk, slowly incorporate the cheese sauce mixture into the soup.  Add cream and serve.

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