Inroduction
Cheddar, Brie, Apple and Beer Soup with a Walnut Crumble
I know it’s not winter yet but this is a delicious Autumn soup that goes well with crusty bread as a lunchtime meal or in smaller portions as a great starter.
Servings
4/6
Prep. time:
25/30 mins
Cook:
35 mins
Difficulty:
Straight forward but time consuming
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sweet onion chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bottle of cider
- 2 small crisp apples or 1 large, chopped
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1 (bottle dark beer/stout/Guiness
- ½ litre of homemade chicken stock (or 2 cubes in water)
- ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 30 gms flour
- ¼ ltrs whole milk
- 125 gms mature cheddar cheese
- 225 gms brie, rind removed and cubed
Cinnamon Walnut Oat Crumble
- 125 gms oats
- 200 gms of raw walnuts
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 100 gms unsalted butter
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
To make the Crumble
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Working on a greased proof paper or baking dish, add the oats, crushed walnuts, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the softened butter and use your fingers to crumble it into the oats mixture until everything is moist and the butter is evenly distributed. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until crisp is golden brown and smells amazing. Best served warm so make it while the soup simmers.
Step 3
Meanwhile, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth. Set aside.
Once the apples are soft, puree the soup until chunky smooth or completely smooth (whatever you like). Return the soup to the stove and bring to a low boil. Whisk in the milk mixture and boil until the soup thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
Step 5
Adjust the seasoning and ladle the soup into bowls and top with the cinnamon walnut crumble. Plus maybe some extra cheese too to your taste!!
Bon appétit !
Step 2
To make the Soup
- Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and a pinch of brown sugar. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. At this point, slowly add in the cider, let it cook into the onions, add more and continue to cook. Do this until the onions are caramelised. Add the apples and thyme to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring, until softened, 8 minutes. Add in any remaining apple cider, the beer, chicken broth and cayenne. Bring to a simmer and cook 5-10 minutes or until the apples are tender. (This is when to bake the crumble)
Step 4
Stir in the cheddar cheese and brie until melted and smooth. Simmer the soup 5 minutes or until ready to serve.
Inroduction
My French Onion Soup
By: Garry Waite
My French Onion Soup takes a bit of time to make, but worth it in the long run. This will make about eight portions and is good for freezing down. If you wish to keep it vegetarian obviously omit the bacon and the beef stock cube and substitute the beef stock for veggie. If you look at other recipes you will find variations but this particular recipe guarantees a full, rich and warming soup that would claim pride of place in the Bistros of Paris.
Servings
6 – 8
Prep. time:
20 mins
Cook:
1 hr
Difficulty:
Easy
Ingredients
- 1 x 2lb 12oz/ 1.25k fresh, whole chicken
- 12 medium sized leeks, well washed and chopped to ¾”/2cm lengths
- 4 oz/ 100g long grain rice, washed
- 3 – 4 medium sized carrots, peeled and grated
- Handful of chopped prunes
- Salt and crushed black pepper
Servings
6 – 8
Cook:
1 hr
Prep. time:
20 mins
Difficulty:
Easy
Ingredients
- 1 x 2lb 12oz/ 1.25k fresh, whole chicken
- 12 medium sized leeks, well washed and chopped to ¾”/2cm lengths
- 4 oz/ 100g long grain rice, washed
- 3 – 4 medium sized carrots, peeled and grated
- Handful of chopped prunes
- Salt and crushed black pepper
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
In a large pan sauté off the onions, garlic, bacon and apple
Step 3
When the pan is still hot pour in the brandy and ignite to burn off the alcohol and then add the red wine.
Step 5
Bring to the boil and then gently simmer for about 20 minutes. Return to boiling point, mix the corn flour with cold water and add to the mix. Bring back to the boil and simmer for a further 10/15 minutes.
Step 2
Caramelise the onions. The sugar in the apple will help this process but now add the brown sugar. Crumble the stock cubes into the mixture. Add the black pepper.
Step 4
Add 2 litres of water and the tomato purée.
Step 6
TO SERVE pour in to a deep bowl place some dry bread on top (or toast) grate over some cheese (I use cheddar but you can use gruyere) and place under a grill until golden brown.
Bon Appétit !
