White Ale Potato Leek Soup

Someone asked me recently, “Do you have a case of beer for each beer you use in your recipes?” That’s expensive! I do not buy by the case. Only for parties. The state of Pennsylvania has strict LCB laws. Boo hiss. There are a few (not many) venues that can sell by the bottle in the Pittsburgh area. It too can be expensive, but I like a variety. Different beers for different days; I’m moody. I really wish the liquor stores would start selling craft beer like they do wine. When I travel to other states with stores dedicated to rows and rows of craft beer, I think I’ve died and gone to beer-haven.

After planning out my recipes, I head over to my favorite Pittsburgh beer emporium, 1 For The Road, for a little grocery shopping. I pick and choose a few flavors I haven’t tried along with my must haves, and a few for my drinking pleasure. I have a beer cellar where I store most of my beer. It’s nothing fancy. More like a large place on the floor in the basement that I call my beer cellar. I hope to one day have a Kegerator and a chair.

Enough with my babble. Grab yourself a Stella Artois and let’s get cooking.

This soup is yum-yum good. I love it. It’s thick and creamy, but with a light taste. I think Stella is the perfect ale for this recipe. Of course, you can use any light beer, but make sure it’s a white ale. Anything darker will change the flavor.

It’s easy and can be made in less than an hour. You’ll see in the instructions, I’m using my immersion blender. It rocks! If you do not have one, you need to get one. It’s my favorite cool tool. It makes it quick, easy, and less messy. That leaves more time for beer.

You’ll Need

3 tablespoons of butter
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 large shallots, peeled
4 leeks, only whites roughly chopped
6 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
3 cups of chicken broth ( or vegetable broth)
1 bottle of white ale (I use Stella Artois)
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon of nutmeg
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Olive oil and chives, for garnish

Let’s get started…

Roughly chop up three potatoes and all four leeks. No need to do any fine chopping. The immersion blender will take care of it. We will get to the other three potatoes later.

In a large dutch oven (or soup pot) toss in all the ingredients except for three potatoes.

Over a high heat, bring to a boil. While you wait for it to boil, chop up the other three potatoes into quarter size bites, and set aside.

Once the soup reaches its boiling point, reduce heat to medium. Using an immersion blender, slowly blend the ingredients until smooth. Cook for an additional 20 minutes. Add in the chopped potatoes to chunk it up. Cook until potatoes are tender (about 8-10 minutes). And, salt and pepper to taste.

Drunken good! Garnish with olive oil and chopped chives, and grab another S T E L L A.

Happy First Day of Fall!

This time of year is awesome. I really enjoy it for the the vibrant orange and yellow colors, and for the smell of baking. Even if it’s colder outside our senses are filled with warmth. Not to mention, I love Halloween and Thanksgiving.

This is my first attempt at stew. I have to tell you, I’m not a fan of stews. Mainly, because it has cooked carrots in it. I have no idea why, but I’m not a fan. In my humble opinion, carrots are best served raw dipped in ranch dressing. Glen, my significant other, loves a good stew. So, I thought, “I’ll make it for him.” And, I thought, “I’ll add beer. Maybe that will make it all the better.”

With a little research on the Internet, I reviewed many recipes. A few from Food Network, Food.Com and AllRecipes. There are a lot of stew recipes out there. I needed to make it my own, but how? I dig Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets. I use those for all kinds of things, especially, my baked brie that I make over the holidays. The pastry sheets are super easy to use. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you get some.

Being this is my first time at stew, I should call it Virgin Lamb Stew, but who knows what kind of spam comments I’d get. Er… I’ll end it here and get on with the show.

You’ll Need

1 pound of smoked bacon, chopped
3 to 4 lbs of boneless leg of lamb or beef for stew
1/2 cup of flour
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
2 Guinness (one for the recipe and one for you to drink)
4 bay leaves
7 cups of beef broth
3 carrots, chopped
4 potatoes, chopped
Cornstarch, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste

For Pastry

Pepperidge Farms Ready to use Pastry Sheets (two sheets per box)
1 egg
1 tablespoon of water

Let’s get started…

In a cast iron skillet cook your bacon. Transfer it to a paper towel and let it cool before chopping. Keep the bacon grease in the skillet.

While you cook your bacon, cut (cube) up your leg of lamb (or beef). Toss it together with the flour, a little sea salt, and fresh ground pepper until your meat is nicely coated. That’s what he said.

Once your bacon is cooked, brown the meat pieces on all sides and toss into a five quart dutch oven, or stock pot.  The bacon should be cool enough to handle. Roughly chop it up and toss it into the pot with your meat.

In the same skillet, sauté your onion, garlic, and thyme for about five minutes over medium heat. Pour in your Guinness to help scrape up all the goodie bits sticking to the bottom of the skillet.

 Toss it all into your pot with the meat and bacon.

Add the beef broth and bay leaves. Bring it all to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is nice and tender.

Add in of carrots and potatoes. Mix your cornstarch with a little water. Bring the stew back to a boil. Add in a little cornstarch mixture at a time. Take baby steps. This will help thicken your broth. I put in a tablespoon every few minutes until I like the consistency. The broth should be a little creamy but not overly thick.

Continue to simer over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Remove the bay leaves before serving.

The Umph

Follow the instructions for thawing on the Pepperidge Farm Pastry Sheet box. I usually set it out on the counter before I start to prepare the stew.

Once the pastry is thawed,  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Beat an egg and a little water together for the egg wash.

Here are two ways you can bake the stew in a puff pastry:

In a 16-ounce oven safe dish, spray with PAM. Place one puff pastry into the bowl  like a pie crust; wrapping over the sides. It doesn’t have to be a perfect fit.  Add in a scoop (about 3/4 to 1 cup) of stew.  Fold your pastry over the stew and pinch dough to seal shut.
Or, before placing the pastry sheet in the bowl, first scoop your stew into it. Cut the pastry sheet in half and place on top. Pinch the dough around the sides of the bowl to seal shut.

For either method, brush the top with the egg wash. Place the bowls on a baking sheet, and bake for 25 – 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Side note: Oven-to-table bowls are a must! I love that I can use it for everything. From eating cereal to baking a pot pie. I only have two, but want more. I’ve added a set of four Le Creuset Stoneware Soup Bowls to my wish list. I’m hoping Santa brings me these this year.

I’m hungry!

This recipe serves 8-10, depending on the size of your bowls. Since I freeze the majority of it, I only use one box of pastries. If you plan to use all 8-10 servings in one meal, you’ll need to buy more than one box of pastry sheets. Use one sheet per bowl. Of course, you do not need to use the puff pastry. You can serve it in a bowl all by itself with a sweet crusty bread. However, the pastry really makes the dish.

Glen always pokes fun at the fact I never cook the same thing twice. Since blogging, I need to make sure I have something to write about. He said the stew was by far the best thing I’ve made, and has requested I make it again for his Birthday. Beginners luck! But, I truly believe that the secret ingredients are the cast iron skillet, the smoked bacon, and the puff pastry. The iron skillet gives it that rustic flavor, the smoked bacon makes it smoky, and the puff pastry makes it gourmet. Not to mention, the Guinness does make it all the better.

Let the soup & stew season begin.

Category: Soup & Stews