Beer Cheese Soup (with Widmer Brothers Beer)
Flickr/Bryan Esler (Creative Commons)
Fall is here! That means it’s time to pull out the soup pot and put it to good use!
This recipe is a delicious combination of Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese and another Northwest local, Widmer Brothers Beer!
The recipe called for Widmer Citra Blond but I decided to make mine with Widmer Drifter Pale Ale. Whichever variety you decide to use, I’m sure it will be tasty!
The pairing of Tillamook Cheese and Widmer Beer gives this soup a distinctly rich and deep flavor that entices you to go back for seconds (or thirds, in my case). Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
6 ounces Tillamook Butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
6 ounces flour
1 bottle Widmer Brothers blond ale
1 quart plus 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 ½ pounds Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 quart plus 1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
shredded cheese and chopped scallions for garnish
DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan or kettle, heat butter, onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions turn translucent. Add flour and stir until completely blended. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
In a separate pot, bring beer and chicken or vegetable stock to boiling. Bring pan with butter, onion and celery back to medium heat. Using a fine wire whisk, slowly whisk into the vegetable mixture the heated stock and beer until any lumps disappear.
Reduce heat to a low simmer, stir in cheese and half-and-half until smooth. Simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
Season with pepper and salt to taste. Garnish individual servings with more cheddar cheese and chopped scallions.
Makes 4 quarts
For a couple more simple cheese soup recipes, try Tillamook Cheddar Beer Soup or Cream of Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup. Let us know how they turn out!
