Cheddar Cheese Soup with Brussels Sprouts
Now that winter is on its way, cheese soup has even more appeal — it is, after all, basically a light version of Swiss fondue, and who doesn’t love a warm, rich fondue when it’s anything but warm and rich outside?
All you have to do to create your personalized cheese soup is choose your cheese and choose your veggies. (You might also enjoy adding a teaspoon of mellow-but-strong dried herbs such as sage, rosemary, and thyme.) Hard, flavorful cheeses like Cheddar and Parmesan, I’ve found, compliment the deep, earthy flavors of tubers, cabbages, and hearty greens. Too bad Popeye never thought to put his spinach into soup!
Cheese Soup with Brussels Sprouts & Spinach
*Note that the proportions for cheese soups are based on what goes into the roux — figure on about 1 cup of milk per person for a hearty bowl of soup and about 1/2 cup per person for a lunchtime portion.
2 T. butter, preferably from grass-fed cows
2 T. whole wheat flour (if you’re going for gluten-free, use masa harina or brown rice flour)
1 cup whole milk, preferably from grass-fed cows
1/2 cup grated cheese (good choices include Cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago, and hard farmer’s cheeses such as the Vegetable County Cheese I used here; mix and match according to your whim)
A handful or two of vegetables (good choices include hearty greens, shredded cabbage, red pepper strips, or precooked veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or green beans)
1/2 tsp. dried sage (optional)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (optional)
If you’re going to use precooked veggies, simmer them in lightly-boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Melt butter over medium-low heat, then whisk in flour. Continue to cook, constantly whisking, until the butter has turned slightly brown. Slowly pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and keep whisking. Pour in a little bit more milk. The goal is to whisk the sauce into velvety smoothness rather than winding up with clumps of buttery flour because you dumped in the milk all at once. If the butter is furiously bubbling, reduce the heat to low.
Very important: turn the heat down to low before stirring in the cheese! (If the cheese-and-milk mixture gets too hot, the cheese will separate from the liquid and will become hard, curd-like knots…and there’s not much you can do to fix that. Unlike “broken” mayonnaise that you can put back together, “broken” separated cheese stays separated.) Add the veggies and spices.
Remove from heat and serve immediately. If you like, garnish with a fresh tomato or additional strips of red pepper.
Enjoy!
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