092204 potatosoup 0005 thumb 300x201 Potato, Brie and Green Apple Soup CheeseWeb StyleI’m a big fan of potato and leek soup. I’m also a big fan of cheese in all of its forms. When I first saw the recipe for Potato, Brie and Green Apple Soup I thought it sounded odd bu delicious.

I mentioned this recipe on Facebook yesterday and had a few requests for it. I tweaked it from the original, because I don’t like using things like cooking sprays and condensed milk. If I’m going to die, I’d rather it be from a stick of butter than a tub of plastic margarine. Here’s my version:

  • 1 chopped yellow onion
  • 1 sliced leek (white part only)
  • 4 large Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and quartered, plus 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced thinly, for garnish
  • 2 cups home-made chicken stock (if you don’t have time to make your own then buy some pre-made. Just please don’t use those horrible cubes)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • A small bunch of fresh thyme (discard any woody stems)
  • ½ cup light cream
  • 2.5 cups of milk
  • 6 small potatoes, peeled and sliced
  • 4 ounces brie cheese, cut into small cubes, rind removed

Add a glug of olive oil to a large soup pot. Add the onion, leek and quartered apples. Sauté over medium heat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, salt and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Turn off heat and set the mixture aside.

While the broth mixture is cooking, combine the cream, milk and potatoes in a separate saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir frequently. Pour the potato mixture into the soup pot. Stir to mix evenly.

In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth, adding the pieces of brie cheese while pureeing. Return the pureed batch to the soup pot and heat until warmed through. Ladle into individual bowls and garnish with thin slices of apple. Serve immediately.