Can I take a moment to sing the praises of soup? It’s healthy and delicious, and warms us from the inside out. A steaming bowl of soup makes you feel good, and its role as a placebo for people who are under the weather has been well-documented. Not to mention that it often tastes even better the second time around …. After chili, shrimp gumbo and macaroni and cheese, I give you soup. In fact, I couldn’t decide which of my soup recipes to feature and ended up choosing two: beef barley and chedder ale. First, beef barley …. This one has never been written down, really, it’s in my head – I learned it by watching my mother make soup, then adding my own little touches.
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup worcestershire
salt
pepper
1 chopped cooking onion
1 lb cubed stewing beef
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 ribs diced celery
2 diced carrots
1 diced parsnip
1 cup dried barley
1 cup dry macaroni
Melt butter in a large pot on medium-low heat. Add worcestershire, onion, beef, salt and pepper. When the beef has browned, fill the pot halfway with water. Add bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil. Add celery and carrots. Boil for five more minutes, then add parsnip, barley and macaroni. Continue to boil the soup until the vegetables have reached desired texture.
And now, cheddar ale ….
1 tbsp butter
1 chopped leek (white part only)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 chopped red onion
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 bottle your favourite ale
8 oz old cheddar, grated
salt
pepper
In a saucepan, on medium-high heat, melt butter and sizzle leek until translucent (but not browned). Add garlic and sizzle a little more, until garlic is green. Then, add all remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, and simmer gently for about thirty minutes. If the soup is not thick enough, gradually stir in a little flour.
Both of these soup recipes are hearty enough to be the main event of a meal, and they’re wonderful with warm bread slathered with butter. They freeze well, too, which means you have a ready-to-go meal for another day when you don’t have time to make anything from scratch (and we all have those days).
BethBlog 