Amanda's Cheddar Beer Soup Recipe- With Gluten Free Options

I mentioned the other day that my friend Amanda passed away. One of the things she was known for was sharing her love of good food with people, as well as delicious memories. A dish she talked about regularly was her cheddar beer soup that she made for special occasions. I never had a chance to make it before she passed, but once she was gone I wanted to honor her memory by making her family's favorite meal. 

Her recipe was based on this one, but she made it vegetarian and with a few other changes, and I decided to make mine with even more changes, keeping it gluten free, not using cow milk in it (since that type of dairy hurts my stomach) and using ingredients I had on hand (I'm out of Worcestershire sauce right now and didn't want to wait 2 weeks for it to be ready, and the store didn't have either, so I used the basic ingredients from my recipe to give it a similar flavor). But even with the changes, I'm still calling this Amanda's recipe since it was completely in her honor and I'm sure it kept the same basic taste.

I loved it. My sons loved it. My girls weren't fans, but they don't really like cheese, and the soup has a slightly bitter aftertaste which they didn't appreciate. 

I will definitely be making this again, but probably for special occasions since the amount of cheese in it makes it somewhat more expensive than my average dinner. But totally worth it.

This recipe isn't the most allergy friendly compared to my other ones, but it is vegetarian and gluten free and egg free, so there's that.

This recipe is especially wonderful eaten with crusty bread (ideally toasted). That's how Amanda always served it. I made some sorghum flour based gluten free bread to eat with this that I'll be sharing the recipe of soon.

A note about the beer in the recipe- I learned recently that certain brands of beer made with barley are considered gluten free and even safe for celiacs since they have less than 20 parts per million of gluten in the final result- Corona beer is one of them. I used that for this, but if you have celiac make sure you use a beer that is celiac safe, and check with your doctor about that. (There are gluten free beers made with other grains out there.)

Amanda's Cheddar Beer Soup Recipe- With Gluten Free Options

Ingredients
2 cups white and pale green parts of leek, approximately from 2 medium leeks 

1 cup diced carrots, approximately 2-3 medium carrots 

1 cup diced celery, approximately celery ribs

3 cloves garlic 

1 bay leaf 

1/4 cup butter 

1/3 cup rice flour (or wheat flour if you're making this gluten) 

1 cup water 

18 oz gluten free beer (preferably light), approximately 1 1/2 12-oz bottle   

3 cups unsweetened soy milk (or regular milk if you don't have a sensitive stomach)

1 teaspoon apple cider or white vinegar 

1 teaspoon gluten free soy sauce 

1/2 teaspoon sugar 

1 pinch curry powder 

1 teaspoon dijon mustard 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 lb cheddar cheese, or 4 cups grated

Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Dice your leek, carrots, and onion and mince your garlic.

2. Saute your leek, carrots, onions, garlic, and bay leaf in butter on a medium/low heat, mixing regularly, for approximately 10 minutes.

3. Sprinkle your flour onto the vegetables and mix, cooking for another few minutes.

4. Add water and beer to the pot and cook until your veggies are soft.

5. Remove the bay leaf and blend until smooth.

6. Add all the rest of the ingredients other than salt and cheese and bring to a simmer (not a boil).

7. Add your cheese to the pot and mix until it is all melted.

8. Add salt if needed.

9. Serve hot with crusty, ideally toasted bread.

Enjoy!

Have you ever had cheddar beer soup before? Does this look like a recipe you'd try?