Recipe: Cheddar Apple Soup (Yes, Soup!)

Tangy, tart and guaranteed to make your face pucker a little, Granny Smith apples are my favorite! While my grandmother may have declared that Granny Smith apples are best used in recipes and not packed in a lunch, I disagree. I love biting into a fresh, crisp Granny Smith apple, and yes, enduring the face-pucker.

February is Apple Month, an annual winter celebration across Western Canada which recognizes the quality produce grown on B.C. soil while encouraging people to support our local growers. Many consumers don’t typically think of February as a month for fresh fruit, however fresh B.C. apples are available throughout the long winter months.

In honor of Apple Month, I thought it would be great to share an apple recipe utilizing Granny Smith apples, but in a way that perhaps you may not have considered. If you’ve never tried Cheddar Apple Soup, here’s your opportunity to wow your family with your cooking expertise! My 12-year-old son took this week’s leftovers to school in his thermos for lunch, so you know it’s a winner.

Here’s a step-by-step visual recipe. I find it helpful to get everything chopped up and ready ahead of time so that I don’t have to scramble. Yes, the apples may get a little brown but they’re in the soup in the end so it doesn’t really matter.

Cheddar Apple Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 tsp dry mustard powder
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 4 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and chopped – divided into a group of 3 apples and 1 apple)
• 2 cups shredded “old” cheddar cheese (the sharper the taste, the better, yum!)
• hot sauce and salt/pepper to taste, if desired (I desire all the hot sauce!)

(1) Melt butter/margarine in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender (about 8-10 minutes). Isn’t the aroma of onions and butter one of the best cooking scents ever? I love it.

(2) Next, add in the flour and dry mustard.

3. Stir to coat the onions until the flour/mustard has dissolved (another 1-2 minutes).

4. Add chicken stock and your chopped up bowl of 3 apples (reserving the 4th apple for later!) Cover the pot and simmer on low for about 15 minutes.

5. Now the real fun begins! Mix in 2 cups of shredded old cheddar cheese, continually mixing so it melts thoroughly into the soup.

6. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to a smooth consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender too. Simply transfer the soup to your blender in batches to blend.

Keep on low on the stove until you’re ready to serve, ensuring you give it a good mix before doing so. After serving in a bowl, top with diced apples (there’s that 4th apple!). You can also add hot sauce and salt/pepper at this point. My girls aren’t fans of hot sauce but the adults and my son love the addition for added tangy flavour.

This soup will give you 6 servings, and entering it into My Fitness Pal calculated it to be about 350 calories per bowl (about 1 cup serving).

Visit BC Tree Fruits to learn more about apples and find more great recipes and ideas! You can also follow BC Tree Fruits on Twitter @bctreefruits and Facebook here!

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